What is Python?
Python is an interpreter, object-oriented and high-level programming language with dynamic semantics. It is a high-level built-in data structure combined with dynamic typing and binding, making it very attractive for the Rapid Application Development, as well as for use as a scripting or glue language to connect the existing components together. Python is a simple, easy to learn syntax emphasizes readability and therefore reduces the cost of the program maintenance. Python supports modules and packages, which encourages the program modularity and code reuse.
What is Alteryx?
AlterYX produces several data analytics solutions. Alteryx specializes in self-service analytics with an intuitive user interface. These analytics can be used as Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) Tools within the Alteryx framework. The products work with the multiple data sources and perform complex analytics, including predictive, spatial, and statistical.
Python Features
Python provides many useful features that make it popular and valuable from other programming languages. It supports object-oriented programming, procedural programming approaches and provides dynamic memory allocation. We have listed below a few essential features.
1) Easy to Learn and Use
Python is easy to learn as compared to other programming languages. Its syntax is straightforward and much the same as the English language. There is no use of the semicolon or curly-bracket, the indentation defines the code block. It is the recommended programming language for beginners.
2) Expressive Language
Python can perform complex tasks using a few lines of code. A simple example, the hello world program you simply type print(“Hello World”). It will take only one line to execute, while Java or C takes multiple lines.
3) Interpreted Language
Python is an interpreted language; it means the Python program is executed one line at a time. The advantage of being interpreted language, it makes debugging easy and portable.
4) Cross-platform Language
Python can run on the different platforms such as Windows, Linux, UNIX, and Macintosh, etc. So, we can say that Python is the portable language. It enables programmers to develop the software for several competing platforms by writing a program only once.
5) Free and Open Source
Python is freely available for everyone. It is freely available on its official website www.python.org. It has a large community across the world that is dedicatedly working towards making new python modules and functions. Anyone can contribute to the Python community. The open-source means, Anyone can download its source code without paying any money.
6) Object-Oriented Language
Python supports object-oriented language and concepts of the classes and objects come into existence. It supports inheritance, polymorphism, and encapsulation, etc. The object-oriented procedure helps programmers to write reusable code and develop applications in less code.
7) Extensible
It implies that other languages such as C/C++ can be used to compile code and thus it can be used further in our Python code. It converts the program into bytecode, and any platform can use that byte code.
8) Large Standard Library
It provides a vast range of libraries for the various fields such as machine learning, web developer, and also for scripting. There are various machine learning libraries, such as Tensor flow, Pandas, Numpy, Keras, and Pytorch, etc. Django, flask, pyramids are the popular frameworks for Python web development.
9) GUI Programming Support
Graphical User Interface is used for the developing Desktop application. PyQT5, Tkinter, Kivy are the libraries that are used for developing the web application.
10) Integrated
It can be easily integrated with languages such as C, C++, and JAVA, etc. Python runs code line by line like C, C++ Java. It makes it easy to debug the code.
11. Embeddable
The code of the other programming language can be used in the Python source code. We can use Python source code in another programming language as well. It can embed other languages into our code.
12. Dynamic Memory Allocation
In Python, we don’t need to specify the data-type of the variable. When we assign some value to the variable, it automatically allocates the memory to the variable at run time. Suppose we are assigned integer value 15 to x, then we don’t need to write int x = 15. Just write x = 15.
Key features of Alteryx
• Shares analytic apps within private teams or publicly
• Prepare, blend and analyze data via repeatable workflows
• Build the data models with drag-and-drop workflows
• Create and shares data insights via reports and apps
• Visualize the data blends and models with Alteryx Designer
• Connect, access & blend business data from the multiple sources
• Use the interactive visualizations to validate model results
• 30+ drag-and-drop predictive tools based on the R language
• Output spatial analytics to mappings & visualizations
• Add governance and security with the Alteryx Server
Benefits of Python
Some of the benefits of programming in Python are as follows:
1. The Presence of Third Party Modules:
The Python Package Index (PyPI) contains the numerous third-party modules that make Python capable of interacting with most of the other languages and platforms.
2. Extensive Support Libraries:
Python provides a huge standard library which includes areas like internet protocols, string operations, web services tools and operating system interfaces. Many high use programming tasks have already been scripted into the standard library which reduces the length of the code to be written significantly.
3. Open Source and Community Development:
Python language is developed under the OSI-approved open source license, which makes it free to use and distribute, including for commercial purposes.
Further, its development is driven by the community which collaborates for its code through hosting conferences, mailing lists and provides for its numerous modules.
4. Learning Ease and Support Available:
Python offers excellent readability and uncluttered simple-to-learn syntax which helps beginners to utilize the programming language. The code style guidelines, PEP 8, provide a set of rules to facilitate the formatting of the code. Additionally, the wide base of the users and active developers has resulted in a rich internet resource bank to encourage the development and the continued adoption of the language.
5. User-friendly Data Structures:
Python has a built-in list and dictionary data structures that can be used to construct the fast runtime data structures. Further, Python also provides the option of dynamic high-level data typing which reduces the length of the support code that is needed.
6. Productivity and Speed:
Python has a clean object-oriented design, provides enhanced process control capabilities, and possesses strong integration and text processing capabilities and its own unit testing framework, all of which contribute to the increase in its speed and productivity. Python is considered as a viable option for building complex multi-protocol network applications.
Benefits of the AlterYX
- Alteryx is a three-pronged self-service data analytics platform, spanning Alteryx Designer, Alteryx Server, and the Alteryx Analytics Gallery.
- Alteryx Designer offers the drag-and-drop editor for prepping and blending data from multiple sources, creating datasets ready for analysis and visualization.
- Leveraging the repeatable workflows, create the predictive analytics models using tools based on the R language – all with no programming knowledge required.
- Access and blend the location data for spatial analysis, outputting to required mapping or visualizations via support for sharing with tools including ESRI, Tableau, or MapInfo.
- Share the insights with a multitude of reporting options and export formats for Microsoft Excel, Tableau, XML, ESRI, PDF, and Qlik.
- Alteryx Server is a scalable enterprise platform deployable on-site or in the cloud, supporting the centralized creation, publishing, and sharing of the analytic workflows.
- Alteryx Analytics Gallery is a cloud-based platform for publishing and customizing the analytics apps – aiding collaboration, agility, and business decision-making.
Conclusion:
To conclude, after using both alteryx and python, I believe the best way to analyze data is to use both in conjunction. Alteryx has a nice easy user interface that allows the average non-programmer complete complex data analysis that cannot be done in excel. Alternatively, python is the language with more customization at the hands of the user with built-in data analysis packages. Alteryx has a built-in tool that enables the user to add python scripts in the workflow. This extra functionality in alteryx allows for both alteryx and python to be used in conjunction with strong data analysis.