Fangs open for Python-only web dev from Anvil

Anvil was founded with the aim of making it simple and fast to create and deploy powerful web apps, using only the Python language.

It is a web-based development environment and was a spin-out from the University of Cambridge’s computer laboratory in 2017. 

Anvil has now opened things up a notch.

By making its runtime server open source, any of the 8 million developers worldwide who know the Python language can now choose to deploy their apps on their own machines (or on specialised Internet of Things (IoT) devices) as well as within their employer’s or Anvil’s clouds.

As we know, the more traditional ways of developing web apps require knowledge of multiple languages and frameworks, creating a complex ecosystem that shuts out many programmers.

Anvil claims to remove these bottlenecks because any developer who knows Python can now connect here to create web apps using its Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

“Anvil’s goal is to fix web development, by making it easier and faster for the world’s growing base of Python developers to create web apps,” said Meredydd Luff, Anvil’s CEO and co-founder. “By extending our platform and embracing open source, we’re enabling developers to create their own apps in the Anvil Editor, export them and run them anywhere on their own hardware. This gives developers even more choice and control. It also enables apps to run without needing an internet connection, making it ideal for IoT applications, remote locations or offline enterprise deployments.”

The company notes that Anvil’s functions are on show as developers and organisations around the world use it to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.