What is MicroPython? Do I need to know it as a data scientist? | by Sarah Lea | January 2025

In this year's edition of the Stack Overflow survey, MicroPython ranks 1.6% among the most popular technologies, but why?

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Towards data science

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When I saw MicroPython listed in this year's Stack Overflow survey, I wanted to know what I could use this language for. And I was wondering if it could serve as a bridge between hardware and software. In this article, I break down what MicroPython is and what data scientists should know about it.

table of Contents
1— What is MicroPython and why is it special?
2— Why should you learn about MicroPython as a data scientist?
3— What is the difference with Python and other programming languages?
4— What does this look like in practice? (Only with web-based simulator)
5— Final thoughts & Where to continue learning?

MicroPython is a compact, simplified version of Python 3 designed specifically for use in microcontrollers and other low-resource embedded systems. As we can read on the official website, the language offers a reduced standard library and special modules to interact directly with hardware components such as GPIO pins, sensors or LEDs.