When thinking of Flasks, your mind probably instantly goes to travel mugs, speedy coffee runs or even camping. Now you might be asking yourself: “What does camp and coffee have to do with code”. The answer is, nothing at all. Today we will look a little bit deeper into a different type of flask.

What is Flask?

Flask is a nifty Python framework used to build web applications. It is designed in order to have scalable and simple application cores. Therefore, Flask is referred to as a Microframework.

Some standard functionalities are provided, but any number of plugins or libraries are allowed to be added as an extension by the developers. The flexibility of Flask allows you to add an innovative and simple use case to an existing application.

The Jinja2 template engine and Werkzeg WSGI toolkit is the foundation which Flask is based on.

What is a Web Framework?

Although it sounds like something you can put a photo in, it is not. A Web Framework is a collection of modules and libraries which makes the writing of web applications easier for the developer, as they do not have to worry about the smaller, ‘nitty-gritty’ details. You can see a Web Framework as a ready built frame where you can put a photo in without needing to worry about getting all the parts or taking the measurements of the frame first.  A few Flask alternative frameworks are listed below:

• Django
• Pyramid
• Bottle
• Tornado

Why use Flask?

As Flask does not require a massive pause for learning, it is very easy to get started with it. Flask is very Pythonic in nature, unlike frameworks like Django, which makes it easier and faster to interpret and apply.

What are the benefits in using Flask?

• Built-in unit testing support
• Jinja2 can be used for templating
• It is lightweight
• REST can be used to request dispatch
• Support of secure cookies
• The debugger provided is fast
• Development server is built-in

So next time you need to drink your coffee while creating your web applications, pick up your flask and set up Flask.