Streamlit Docs

Streamlit is a Python library that allows you to create web apps with minimal effort. You can run a Streamlit app by using the command streamlit run your_script.py. It supports a wide range of features for displaying and interacting with data, including writing text, creating charts, and generating tables with commands like st.text and st.line_chart. It also includes a development flow that automatically updates the app when the source code changes. Streamlit’s data flow reruns the entire script when changes occur, and the @st.cache decorator can optimize performance by caching results. Widgets, like sliders and checkboxes, can be used to add interactivity to apps. Streamlit also provides layout options, including sidebars and columns, and you can show progress during long computations with st.progress().

The text discusses how to enhance the performance and user experience of Streamlit apps through caching and session state management. Caching is used to store the results of expensive function calls, allowing the app to skip these functions on subsequent runs if the inputs haven’t changed, thereby improving app performance. Streamlit provides two decorators for caching: st.cache_data for serializable data objects and st.cache_resource for global resources like ML models or database connections. Session State, on the other hand, offers a way to preserve information across reruns for each user, acting like a dictionary where data can be stored and accessed using keys. This functionality is beneficial for maintaining user-specific data or managing progressive processes within the app. Additionally, Streamlit simplifies handling connections, such as database queries, with st.connection and securely manages sensitive information through a secrets.toml file, ensuring that user credentials are kept safe.