Opportunities and Limitations of Running Python Code in the Web Browser

Python is a popular programming language that is widely used for a variety of applications such as web development, data analysis, scientific computing, and education. This versatility makes it a popular choice for developers and educators who need a language that can be used for a wide variety of tasks. While Python is typically run on the server side or on the desktop, there is a growing interest in running Python code directly on the client side, i.e., in the browser.

There are several possibilities available for running Python code in the browser, among others,

transpiling it into JavaScript (cf. e.g., Transcrypt),

running it by making use of an interpreter implemented in JavaScript (cf. e.g., Brython or Skulpt),

or executed it by leveraging a Python interpreter compiled to WebAssembly (cf. e.g., Pyodide or CoWasm), an open standard defined by the World Wide Web Consortium specifying a bytecode for running programs in browsers.

Since the choice of the right tool for a given application depends on the specific requirements and constraints, the aim of this bachelor thesis is to provide an overview of the state of the art in running Python code in the browser. This is done by presenting a variety of different tools and environments available, their capabilities and limitations, as well as some application examples and sample code. Furthermore, similar to Kiyokawa’s & Jin’s (2022) work on “A Front-End Framework Selection Assistance System [...]”, the objective of this bachelor’s thesis is to develop criteria to help developers and educators in the selection process.

Link to Respository: https://git.uibk.ac.at/csav4362/running-python-in-web-browser