# I use Python for three jobs: automation, data wrangling, tooling

> Where I use Python and where I do not — scripting, data wrangling, tooling, and the claims I decline to make.

- Technologies: Python
- Experience: Since 2014
- Posts: 7
- Projects: 1
- Updated: 2026-09-02
- Source: https://www.muhammetsafak.com.tr/en/expertise/python/
- Language: en-US
- Author: Muhammet Şafak

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## Me in the Python ecosystem

Python is not a field of expertise for me; it is a narrow, well-defined tool.
When a file has to be read and reshaped, or a repetitive job automated, moving
to a language that asks for no setup ceremony gets the work done faster. This
page describes the limits of that narrow area as they are.

The brevity of this page is not a gap but a measure: I write as much as I can
claim. If you are asking the same question about a broader ecosystem, the
[PHP page](/en/expertise/php/) is much longer — as it should be.

### The three jobs I open Python for

What the three share is that the job ends in a few lines against the standard library: for anything outside them I go to another language.

- **Data conversion** — Moving data from one format to another; the scripts that read, reshape and write a file sit here.
- **Automation** — Turning a repetitive workflow into a script; the jobs where a step gets skipped by hand come here first.
- **Small helper tools** — Programs with one job and no setup ceremony. I could write the same thing in PHP, and some of it in Go; at this scale the ceremony is too much.

### I do not only write Python, I analyse it

On the rule-checking side I parse Python as well. Enforcing code layout in a language takes more than knowing its syntax: it takes modelling how an import is written and where it resolves. The rule itself does not change between languages — the surface it is applied to does.

### When a job earns a script

I decide with three questions; as the yes answers add up, the script earns its keep.

1. **How often is it done** — A job done rarely does not earn a script; the more often it comes back, the more the script is worth.
2. **Are the steps fixed** — A job that changes on every run needs a decision, not a script. Fixed steps are the precondition for automation.
3. **Can a step be skipped by hand** — Doing it by hand leaves room for a skipped step. If a step can be skipped, the value of the script comes from consistency rather than speed.

### What I do not claim

Django, FastAPI and Flask sit on the skill list in my résumé, but none of the work described on this page runs on a Python web framework, and there is no point hiding that. If I had to take over a Python service I could; claiming "I ship product in Python" would not be accurate.

## Frequently asked

### How long have you used Python?

Since 2014, so 12 years. The span does not mean depth here: Python has always done the same narrow job for me and never moved outside it.

### What do you use Python for?

Three jobs: converting data from one format to another, turning a repetitive workflow into a script, and writing small helper tools. For anything outside those three I go to another language.

### Why not do this in PHP?

PHP was designed to answer web requests. I do not want to open a composer.json and build a class hierarchy just to read, reshape and write a file — the ceremony is too much for that task. In Python the same job is a few lines against the standard library.

### Do you build products with Django or FastAPI?

All three (Django, FastAPI, Flask) sit on the skill list in my résumé, but none of the work described on this page runs on a Python web framework. If I had to take over a Python service I could; claiming "I ship product in Python" would not be accurate.

### How much have you written about Python?

There are 7 Python-tagged posts on this site — the smallest of the ecosystems. That is also why this page is short: I write as much as I can evidence.

### How does polyglot work decide Python's place?

Being polyglot is not a goal for me; it is the sum of answers given to problems. Python holds a narrow, well-defined spot in that sum: the jobs where PHP asks for too much ceremony and Go asks for too much compilation.