16 Questions
What was the initial end-of-life date for Python 2.7?
2015
What utility is included in Python 3 releases to automate the translation of Python 2 code to Python 3?
2to3
Which Python versions are currently supported as of 2023?
3.8 and later
What is the unofficial Python implementation that continues to support Python 2?
PyPy
What was the reason for expediting security updates in 2021 and 2022?
All Python versions were insecure
What is the stable release of Python as of October 2023?
Python 3.12
What notable changes were introduced in Python 3.11?
Improved error reporting and increased program execution speed
What is the new keyword added in Python 3.12?
type
What is the primary focus of Python's design philosophy?
Code readability
What type of programming language is Python?
Dynamically typed
What is the term used to describe Python's comprehensive standard library?
Batteries included
When was the first version of Python released?
1991
What is the name of the operating system that the ABC programming language was capable of interfacing with?
Amoeba
What is the title that the Python community bestowed upon Guido van Rossum?
Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL)
What feature was introduced in Python 2.0?
List comprehensions
What is the current leadership structure of the Python project?
A five-member Steering Council
Study Notes
General-purpose Programming Language
- Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language that emphasizes code readability with significant indentation.
- It is dynamically typed and garbage-collected, supporting multiple programming paradigms, including structured, object-oriented, and functional programming.
History of Python
- Guido van Rossum began working on Python in the late 1980s as a successor to the ABC programming language.
- Python 0.9.0 was first released in 1991.
- Python 2.0 was released in 2000, with many major new features such as list comprehensions and Unicode support.
- Python 3.0 was released in 2008, with many of its major features backported to Python 2.6.x and 2.7.x.
Releases and Support
- Python 2.7's end-of-life was initially set for 2015, then postponed to 2020.
- Python 2.7.18, released in 2020, was the last release of Python 2.
- Currently, only Python 3.8 and later are supported (2023 security issues were fixed in e.g. 3.7.17, the final 3.7.x release).
- PyPy, an unofficial Python implementation, continues to support Python 2, i.e. "2.7.18+" (plus 3.9 and 3.10).
Recent Developments
- In 2021 and 2022, security updates were expedited due to security issues leading to possible remote code execution and web-cache poisoning.
- Python 3.10.4 and 3.9.12 were expedited and 3.8.13 due to many security issues.
- Python 3.9.13 was released in May 2022, announcing that the 3.9 series would only receive security fixes in the future.
- As of October 2023, Python 3.12 is the stable release, and 3.12 and 3.11 are the only versions with active (as opposed to just security) support.
- Notable changes in 3.11 include increased program execution speed and improved error reporting.
- Python 3.12 adds syntax to the language, including the new (soft) keyword type, and improved error reporting.
Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language with a design philosophy emphasizing code readability and a comprehensive standard library. It supports multiple programming paradigms and is often described as a 'batteries included' language.
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