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Questions and Answers
What is the primary focus of Python's design philosophy?
What type of programming language is Python?
What is a notable feature of Python's standard library?
Who was the lead developer of Python until 2018?
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What was the significance of Python 3.0, released in 2008?
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What was the initial end-of-life date for Python 2.7?
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Which Python version added the | union type operator and the match and case keywords?
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What is the current status of Python 2.7 and older versions?
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What was the reason for the expedited security updates in 2021 and 2022?
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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 that emphasizes code readability using significant indentation.
Design and Features
- Python is dynamically typed and garbage-collected.
- Supports multiple programming paradigms: structured, object-oriented, and functional programming.
- Often described as a "batteries included" language due to its comprehensive standard library.
History
- Invented in the late 1980s by Guido van Rossum as a successor to the ABC programming language.
- Guido van Rossum was the lead developer and "benevolent dictator for life" (BDFL) until 2018.
- In 2019, a five-member Steering Council was elected to lead the project.
Releases
- Python 2.0 was released in 2000 with features like list comprehensions and Unicode support.
- Python 3.0 was released in 2008 with many backported features to Python 2.6.x and 2.7.x.
- Python 2.7.18 was the last release of Python 2 in 2020.
- Python 3.8 and later are currently supported (as of 2023).
- Python 3.9 series and older will only receive security fixes.
Security Updates
- In 2021 and 2022, security updates were expedited due to security issues leading to remote code execution and web-cache poisoning.
- Releases 3.10.4, 3.9.12, and 3.8.13 were expedited due to many security issues.
- Releases 3.10.7, 3.9.14, 3.8.14, and 3.7.14 were made due to a potential denial-of-service attack.
Notable Changes
- Python 3.11 added increased program execution speed, improved error reporting, and expanded exception handling functionality.
- Python 3.10 added the | union type operator and match and case keywords for structural pattern matching statements.
- Python 3.12 added the new keyword type.
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Description
Learn about Python, a high-level, general-purpose programming language that emphasizes code readability. Discover its features, design, and history.
