Podcast Beta
Questions and Answers
What is the primary emphasis of Python's design philosophy?
What type of programming language is Python?
Who is the original creator of Python?
What is Python often described as due to its comprehensive standard library?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the name of the title given to Guido van Rossum by the Python community?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the initial end-of-life date for Python 2.7?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the purpose of the 2to3 utility in Python 3 releases?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following Python versions are currently supported as of 2023?
Signup and view all the answers
What was the main reason for the security updates in Python 2.7 and 3.x in 2021 and 2022?
Signup and view all the answers
What is a notable feature added in Python 3.11?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
General-purpose Programming Language
- Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language with an emphasis on code readability.
- It is dynamically typed and garbage-collected, supporting multiple programming paradigms (structured, object-oriented, and functional).
History
- Guido van Rossum invented 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 major new features like 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.
- Guido van Rossum stepped down as the lead developer in 2018, and a five-member Steering Council was elected to lead the project.
- Python 2.7's end-of-life was initially set for 2015, then postponed to 2020, and no further security patches or improvements will be released for it.
- As of 2023, only Python 3.8 and later are supported, with security issues being fixed in recent releases.
Releases and Updates
- Python 3.10.4, 3.9.12, and 3.8.13 were expedited in 2022 due to security issues.
- Python 3.9.13 was released in May 2022, with the announcement that the 3.9 series would only receive security fixes in the future.
- Four new releases (3.10.7, 3.9.14, 3.8.14, and 3.7.14) were made in September 2022 due to a potential denial-of-service attack.
- As of October 2023, Python 3.12 is the stable release, with 3.12 and 3.11 being the only versions with active support.
- Notable changes in Python 3.11 include increased program execution speed and improved error reporting.
- Python 3.12 added the new keyword type.
- Every Python release since 3.5 has added some syntax to the language.
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Description
A comprehensive overview of Python, a high-level general-purpose programming language, its design philosophy, and features.
