What is Streamlit and Why Should You Use It

In this article, I will explain what streamlit is and why you should use it, as well as provide a brief tutorial on how to get started with it.

Streamlit is an open-source Python library that allows developers to create interactive, web-based applications quickly and easily. It is designed to be easy to use, with a simple syntax and intuitive interface.

Streamlit was created to make it easier for data scientists and machine learning engineers to create interactive dashboards and applications without the need for extensive web development knowledge. It simplifies the process of building web applications by providing a set of simple, easy-to-use functions that allow developers to create interactive widgets and visualizations, handle user input, and build complex layouts.

One of the key features of Streamlit is its ability to automatically update the user interface whenever the underlying data changes. This allows developers to build applications that can dynamically update in response to changing input, making it ideal for building interactive dashboards and visualizations.

Another advantage of Streamlit is its ability to run on any platform, including local development environments, cloud platforms, and containerized environments. It is built on top of the popular web framework Flask, which makes it easy to deploy and scale applications.

Streamlit also includes a number of built-in widgets and visualizations, making it easy to create interactive plots and charts, tables, and other data visualizations. It also supports integration with popular libraries like Plotly and Matplotlib, which further expands its capabilities.

Some reasons why you might want to use Streamlit include:

1. It’s easy to use: Streamlit has a simple, intuitive API that allows you to build interactive applications with just a few lines of code.
2. It’s fast: Streamlit reruns your code as you make changes, so you can see the results of your code immediately. This makes it a great tool for prototyping and iterating on ideas.
3. It’s flexible: Streamlit allows you to build a wide range of applications, from simple dashboards to complex machine learning models. You can use it to build applications that showcase data, allow users to interact with data, and even deploy machine learning models.
4. It’s well-documented: Streamlit has comprehensive documentation and a large community of users, so you can find help and resources online if you need it.

Creating a Simple Web Application Using Streamlit

Prerequisites

To follow this tutorial, you will need:

• Python 3.6 or later. You can check your Python version by running python --version in a terminal.
• A text editor or integrated development environment (IDE) of your choice.
• A terminal or command prompt.

Setting up a Streamlit project

First, you will need to install Streamlit. Open a terminal and run the following command:pip install streamlit

pip install streamlit

This will install the latest version of Streamlit.

mkdir streamlit-tutorial
cd streamlit-tutorial

Now create a new file called app.py in this folder. This will be the main script that runs your Streamlit app.

Writing a Streamlit app

Open app.py in your text editor or IDE.

At the top of the file, import the streamlit module:

import streamlit as st

Then, add the following lines of code to the file:

st.title("My Streamlit App")
st.write("This is my first Streamlit app.")

This code creates a simple Streamlit app with a title and a text element.

Save the file and return to the terminal. Run the following command to start the app:

streamlit run app.py

This will start the Streamlit server and open a new tab in your web browser with your app. You should see a page with the title “My Streamlit App” and the text “This is my first Streamlit app.”

Adding interactivity

Streamlit allows you to add interactive elements to your app, such as buttons, sliders, and text input fields.

For example, you can add a slider to your app like this:

import streamlit as st

st.title("My Streamlit App")

slider_value = st.slider("Select a value", min_value=0, max_value=100)
st.write(f"You selected {slider_value}")

This code creates a slider that allows the user to select a value between 0 and 100. When the user moves the slider, the selected value is displayed on the page.

You can also add a text input field like this:

import streamlit as st

st.title("My Streamlit App")

name = st.text_input("Enter your name")
st.write(f"Hello, {name}!")

This code creates a text input field that allows the user to enter their name. When the user enters their name and presses “Enter,” the app displays a greeting using their name.

Conclusion

That’s a brief overview of how to use Streamlit to build a simple web application. Streamlit offers many more features and interactivity options, so be sure to check out the Streamlit documentation for more information.