Questions and Answers
What was the initial end-of-life date for Python 2.7?
What is a distinctive feature of Python's design philosophy?
What is the purpose of the 2to3 utility in Python 3 releases?
What is the current status of Python 2.7 and older versions?
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What type of programming paradigms does Python support?
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What is the main difference between Python 3.11 and Python 3.10?
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What is the reason behind Python being referred to as a 'batteries included' language?
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What is the latest stable release of Python as of October 2023?
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Who began working on Python in the late 1980s as a successor to the ABC programming language?
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What was the release year of Python 2.0?
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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.
- Python supports multiple programming paradigms, including structured, object-oriented, and functional programming.
History
- Guido van Rossum invented Python in the late 1980s as a successor to the ABC programming language.
- Python was first released in 1991 as Python 0.9.0.
- Python 2.0 was released in 2000, and Python 3.0 was released in 2008, which was a major revision not completely backward-compatible with earlier versions.
- Python 2.7.18, released in 2020, was the last release of Python 2.
Development
- Guido van Rossum was the lead developer and "benevolent dictator for life" until 2018, when he announced his "permanent vacation" from his responsibilities.
- In 2019, a five-member Steering Council was elected to lead the project.
- Python releases include the 2to3 utility, which automates the translation of Python 2 code to Python 3.
Releases and Support
- Python 2.7 and older are officially unsupported, and no further security patches or improvements will be released.
- Currently, only Python 3.8 and later are supported, with security issues fixed in later releases (e.g., 3.7.17, the final 3.7.x release).
- PyPy, an unofficial Python implementation, continues to support Python 2, including backported security updates.
Recent Updates
- In 2021 and 2022, security updates were expedited due to security issues affecting all Python versions.
- Python 3.10.4, 3.9.12, and 3.8.13 were released in 2022 due to many security issues.
- Python 3.9.13 and later releases will only receive security fixes.
- Python 3.12 is the stable release, and 3.12 and 3.11 are the only versions with active support.
- Notable changes in Python 3.11 include increased program execution speed and improved error reporting.
- Every Python release since 3.5 has added new syntax to the language, including the | union type operator and the match and case keywords in Python 3.10, and the new keyword type in Python 3.12.
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Description
Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language that emphasizes code readability and supports multiple programming paradigms. It has a comprehensive standard library and is dynamically typed. Guido van Rossum began work on Python in the late 1980s.
