Python (programming language)

Guido van Rossum OSCON 2006 cropped

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Python is a high-level, interpreted, general-purpose programming language. Created by Guido van Rossum and first released in 1991, Python's design philosophy emphasizes code readability with its notable use of significant whitespace. Its language constructs and object-oriented approach aim to help programmers write clear, logical code for small and large-scale projects.

History

Python was conceived in the late 1980s by Guido van Rossum at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands as a successor to the ABC programming language, which was inspired by SETL, capable of exception handling and interfacing with the Amoeba operating system. Its implementation began in December 1989. Van Rossum shouldered sole responsibility for the project, as the self-appointed "Benevolent Dictator For Life" (BDFL), a title he relinquished in July 2018.

Features

Python is dynamically typed and garbage-collected. It supports multiple programming paradigms, including procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming. Python is described by its developers as "batteries included" due to its comprehensive standard library.

Syntax and Semantics

Python is designed for readability, and it has similarities to the English language with influence from mathematics. Python uses new lines to complete a command, as opposed to other programming languages which often use semicolons or parentheses. It relies on indentation, using whitespace, to define scope; such as the scope of loops, functions, and classes. Other programming languages often use curly-brackets for this purpose.

Libraries and Frameworks

Python's extensive standard library, available in binary or source form for all major platforms, provides tools suited to many tasks. For Internet-facing applications, many standard formats and protocols such as MIME and HTTP are supported. It includes modules for creating graphical user interfaces, connecting to relational databases, generating pseudorandom numbers, arithmetic with arbitrary precision, and manipulating regular expressions.

In addition to the standard library, Python's ecosystem includes thousands of third-party modules available from PyPI, the Python Package Index.

Applications

Python is used in various software development and scientific domains. Its high-level built-in data structures, combined with dynamic typing and dynamic binding, make it very attractive for Rapid Application Development, as well as for use as a scripting or glue language to connect existing components. Python's simple, easy to learn syntax emphasizes readability and therefore reduces the cost of program maintenance. Python supports modules and packages, which encourages program modularity and code reuse.

The Python interpreter and the extensive standard library are available in source or binary form without charge for all major platforms, and can be freely distributed. Often, programmers fall in love with Python because of the increased productivity it provides. Since there is no compilation step, the edit-test-debug cycle is incredibly fast.

Philosophy

Python users and admirers, especially those considered knowledgeable or experienced, are often referred to as Pythonistas. Python's philosophy is summarized by the document The Zen of Python, which includes aphorisms such as:

• Beautiful is better than ugly.
• Explicit is better than implicit.
• Simple is better than complex.
• Complex is good if it's understandable.
• Readability counts.

Versions

Python has evolved through different versions, with Python 2.0 introduced in 2000, adding new features such as list comprehensions and a garbage collection system with reference counting. Python 3.0, released in 2008, was a major revision of the language that is not completely backward-compatible, and much Python 2 code does not run unmodified on Python 3.

The Python 2 series saw its final release, Python 2.7, in 2010. Python 2.7 was considered the last release in the Python 2 series. The Python Software Foundation has ceased support for Python 2.7 since January 1, 2020. Python 3 is actively developed, with the latest versions offering improvements in speed, code readability, and module standardization.

See Also

• List of programming languages
• Software development
• Object-oriented programming
• Functional programming

External Links

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