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Comparison with other frameworks

FastAPI is a modern, fast (high-performance), web framework for building APIs with Python 3.6+ that is based on standard Python type hints. In comparison with other popular frameworks, FastAPI stands out for several reasons. Let's break down these reasons by comparing FastAPI with some of the most common web frameworks.

Flask​

Flask is a micro web framework written in Python. It does not require particular tools or libraries, which makes it light and easy to use.

Advantages of FastAPI over Flask:

  1. Type checking: FastAPI uses Python's type hints which allow editors to provide better support; also, your code becomes easier to read and maintain.
  2. Automatic API documentation: FastAPI automatically generates API documentation using your routes and Python type hints while Flask requires you to manually document your API.
  3. Performance: FastAPI is faster than Flask. It's not just about code execution speed, but also about the speed at which you can write code.

Django​

Django is a high-level Python web framework that enables rapid development of secure and maintainable websites.

Advantages of FastAPI over Django:

  1. Simplicity: FastAPI is much simpler to use and understand compared to Django. Django comes with a lot of features out of the box which makes it complex.
  2. Asynchronous support: FastAPI has built-in support for async and await keywords. Django does not support async natively yet.
  3. Performance: FastAPI performs better than Django, especially when combined with an ASGI server.

Express.js​

Express.js is a web application framework for Node.js, designed for building web applications and APIs.

Advantages of FastAPI over Express.js:

  1. Python's benefits: With FastAPI you can use Python's simplicity, extensive libraries, and the powerful data manipulation capabilities.
  2. Type checking: FastAPI uses Python's type hints which provide a way of enforcing code accuracy.
  3. Automatic API documentation: FastAPI automatically generates interactive API documentation.

Conclusion​

FastAPI has many strong points and benefits when compared to other frameworks. It's modern, fast, easy to use, and comes with automatic API documentation features. However, the choice of framework often depends on the specific needs of your project. So, although FastAPI is a powerful framework, it's always a good idea to understand the nature of your project before choosing the right tool for the job.