Introduction to Python

10 Questions

What is a distinctive feature of Python's design philosophy?

Code readability

What type of programming paradigms does Python support?

Structured, object-oriented, and functional programming

What is Python often referred to as due to its comprehensive standard library?

A 'batteries included' language

Who is credited with beginning work on Python in the late 1980s?

Guido van Rossum

When was Python 2.0 released?

2000

What was the initial end-of-life date set for Python 2.7?

2015

What is the purpose of the 2to3 utility in Python 3?

To automate the translation of Python 2 code to Python 3

What is the current status of Python 2.7?

Unsupported

What is the purpose of the expedited security updates in 2021 and 2022?

To fix security issues leading to remote code execution and web-cache poisoning

What is the latest stable release of Python as of October 2023?

Python 3.12

Study Notes

General Properties of Python

Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language.
It emphasizes code readability with significant indentation.
Python is dynamically typed and garbage-collected.
It supports multiple programming paradigms, including structured, object-oriented, and functional programming.

History of Python

Python was invented in the late 1980s by Guido van Rossum as a successor to the ABC programming language.
The implementation of Python began in December 1989.
Guido van Rossum was the lead developer and "benevolent dictator for life" until 2018.
In 2019, a five-member Steering Council was elected to lead the project.

Releases of Python

Python 2.0 was released in 2000 with major new features like list comprehensions, cycle-detecting garbage collection, reference counting, and Unicode support.
Python 3.0 was released in 2008 with many major features backported to Python 2.6.x and 2.7.x.
Python 2.7's end-of-life was initially set for 2015, then postponed to 2020.
Only Python 3.8 and later are supported as of 2023.
Python 3.11 and 3.12 are the only versions with active support as of October 2023.

Notable Changes in Recent Releases

Python 3.11 increased program execution speed and improved error reporting.
Python 3.12 adds syntax to the language, including the new (soft) keyword type.
Python 3.10 added a new type union operator and improved exception handling.
Python 3.10 and 3.11 added support for exception handling and the match and case statements.