10 Questions
What is a key feature of Python's design philosophy?
Code readability with indentation
What is the name of the programming language that inspired the development of Python?
ABC
Who was the lead developer of Python until 2018?
Guido van Rossum
What is a name given to Guido van Rossum in the Python community?
Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL)
When was Python 2.0 released?
16 October 2000
Which Python version's end-of-life was initially set for 2015, but later postponed to 2020?
Python 2.7
Which Python implementation continues to support Python 2?
PyPy
What was added to Python 3.10?
The | union type operator and the match and case keywords
Which Python versions are currently supported as of 2023?
3.8 and later
What was added to Python 3.12?
The type keyword
Study Notes
Python Overview
- High-level, general-purpose programming language
- Emphasizes code readability with significant indentation
- Dynamically typed and garbage-collected
- Supports multiple programming paradigms: structured, object-oriented, and functional
History
- Invented by Guido van Rossum in the late 1980s as a successor to ABC programming language
- First released in 1991 as Python 0.9.0
- Python 2.0 released in 2000, Python 3.0 released in 2008 (major revision, not completely backward-compatible)
- Guido van Rossum was the lead developer and "benevolent dictator for life" until 2018
- Steering Council elected in 2019 to lead the project
Releases
- Python 2.7.18 released in 2020, last release of Python 2
- Python 3.0 and later releases include the 2to3 utility for translating Python 2 code to Python 3
- Python 2.7's end-of-life was initially set for 2015, then postponed to 2020
- Currently, only Python 3.8 and later are supported (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 with backported security updates
Security Updates
- Security updates were expedited in 2021 and 2022 due to security issues in all Python versions
- Python 3.9.13 release announced that the 3.9 series would only receive security fixes in the future
- Releases made in 2022 due to potential denial-of-service attack: 3.10.7, 3.9.14, 3.8.14, and 3.7.14
- As of October 2023, Python 3.12 is the stable release, and 3.12 and 3.11 are the only versions with active support
Learn about Python, a high-level programming language known for its code readability, dynamic typing, and multiple programming paradigms. Discover its history, from its invention to major revisions.
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