What Are the Most Popular Software Libraries?

If you are new to programming, you can easily get overwhelmed with all the capabilities the programming language or framework of your choice has. However, one thing in particular that interests programmers and businesses looking to improve their DevOps efforts is software libraries.

Hundreds of software libraries, such as the Python Requests Library, exist. How do you choose the right one for your project, though? Here is everything you need to know about software libraries, including their most popular ones, use cases, and features.

What is a software library?

While many applications have a unique use case and come with specific features, there are many things applications do in the same way. Nevertheless, you have to code the features of your application to enable it to do specific tasks.

Instead of coding from scratch, you can use previously written code, called a library, that you can conveniently call upon wherever you need your app to complete the desired task.

Using a Python Requests Library or TensorFlow library saves you much time. Instead of “reinventing the wheel”, you get to use a library with out-of-the-box methods you can call upon to optimize tasks.

What are the primary use cases and features in software libraries?

The primary use cases of libraries are tied to the given project. For instance, libraries can be used to build apps and websites efficiently. Since a library includes specific pre-coded components, these components dictate its use case.

Libraries can help programmers facilitate data gathering and management, machine learning, and animations. They can also help them build interactive user interfaces and streamline server connections and user authentication. Companies with small IT and developer teams often use libraries to get things done more efficiently without sacrificing the app’s functionality and stability.

Sometimes, developers can use a library to address a specific challenge when building features. They will use a single library component to overcome the challenge and continue working on things that need to be coded from the ground up.

Finally, libraries can help developers gain insights and get inspired to solve a particular problem. Access to a library allows them to get a different perspective and overcome a challenging task quickly.

The most popular software libraries

While hundreds of software libraries exist, only a few have become immensely popular. Here are a couple of them, including their features and use cases.

Python Requests Library

Python Requests Library comes with pre-written code to help you resolve challenges when programming in Python. With this specific library, you can execute HTTP operations like POST and GET and get access to the target data of a particular website or through a web service. It’s commonly used for making web scraping bots as it supports reading, updating, and sending new headers, authentication, and HTTP exceptions and timeouts.

NumPy

NumPy is another popular library used in Python programs. Unlike the Python Requests Library, which streamlines HTTP connections, NumPy enables developers to create powerful arrays.

That’s why its primary use case is building machine learning models. NumPy simplifies and helps iterate data set values at scale, thus enabling developers to train machine learning models more efficiently.

SMFL

SMFL is an acronym for The Simple and Fast Multimedia Library. This library is one of the most popular libraries among C++ developers. Developers use it to enable apps to connect to several devices.

However, the primary purpose of SMFL is to facilitate the creation of images and the generation of sound effects. Thanks to its unique features, SMFL is especially popular among developers interested in building games and multimedia applications.

p5

Regarding JavaScript libraries, none can beat p5 in terms of popularity. That’s because the p5 comes with tons of functionalities. The library simplifies coding in JavaScript and makes it more accessible to people outside of the app development niche, such as designers, artists, absolute beginners, and educators. You can use it to create beautiful web pages while writing minimal code.

TensorFlow

TensorFlow is one of those libraries that are popular among developers specializing in different programming languages. You can use it both in C++ and Python. The library comes from Google’s kitchen and was developed with machine learning in mind. TensorFlow simplifies the creation and training of machine learning models. You can even use it for your neural network project.

Wrapping up

Some popular software libraries include Python Requests Library, NumPy, SMFL, p5, and TensorFlow. As you can see, each comes with unique components and features. Choosing the correct library for your next project will strictly depend on which problem you are looking to solve.