Questions and Answers
What is a key feature of Python's design philosophy?
What is a characteristic of Python's type system?
Who is credited with inventing Python?
What is notable about Python 3.0?
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What is a term used to describe Guido van Rossum's role in the Python project?
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What is the purpose of the 2to3 utility in Python 3 releases?
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What is the current status of Python 2.7?
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What is the significance of Python 3.9.13?
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What is a notable change in Python 3.11 compared to 3.10?
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What is the latest stable release of Python as of October 2023?
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Study Notes
General-purpose Programming Language
- Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language with an emphasis on code readability and uses significant indentation.
- It is dynamically typed and garbage-collected, supporting multiple programming paradigms like structured, object-oriented, and functional programming.
Features and Releases
- Python is often described as a "batteries included" language due to its comprehensive standard library.
- Guido van Rossum began working on Python in the late 1980s as a successor to the ABC programming language and first released it in 1991 as Python 0.9.0.
- Python 2.0 was released in 2000, and Python 3.0, released in 2008, 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.
History of Python
- Guido van Rossum invented Python in the late 1980s at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands as a successor to the ABC programming language.
- Van Rossum was the lead developer and sole responsible person for the project until 2018, when he announced his "permanent vacation" as Python's "benevolent dictator for life" (BDFL).
- In 2019, active Python core developers elected a five-member Steering Council to lead the project.
Notable Releases and Features
- Python 2.0 was released on 16 October 2000, with features like list comprehensions, cycle-detecting garbage collection, reference counting, and Unicode support.
- Python 3.0 was released on 3 December 2008, with many major features backported to Python 2.6.x and 2.7.x.
- Releases of Python 3 include the 2to3 utility, which automates the translation of Python 2 code to Python 3.
- Python 2.7's end-of-life was initially set for 2015, then postponed to 2020, and currently, only 3.8 and later are supported.
- Python 3.10 added the | union type operator and the match and case keywords (for structural pattern matching statements).
- Python 3.11 expanded exception handling functionality and increased program execution speed.
- Python 3.12 added the new keyword type and is the stable release as of October 2023.
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Description
Learn about Python, a high-level, general-purpose programming language emphasizing code readability and supporting multiple programming paradigms. Discover its design philosophy, features, and comprehensive standard library.
