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2Python: A Dynamic Programming Language
3Python Runs Nearly Anywhere
Python is available for all major operating systems: Windows, Linux/Unix, OS/2, Mac, Amiga, among others. There are versions that run on Microsoft and Java platforms, and Nokia Series 60 cell phones. The same source code will run unchanged across all implementations.
4Python Has Deep Roots
Python was conceived in the late 1980s, and its implementation was started in December 1989 by Guido van Rossum at CWI (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica—the Center for Mathematics and Computer Science) in the Netherlands as a successor to the ABC programming language (itself inspired by SETL, the SET Language) capable of exception handling and interfacing with the Amoeba operating system. Van Rossum is Python’s principal author, and his continuing central role in deciding the direction of Python is reflected in the title given to him by the Python community: Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL).
5Python 2.0
6Python 3.0
7Python Is Used on a Website Near You
8Popular Yahoo Software
9Python Was Not Named After the Snake
An important goal of the Python developers is making Python fun to use. This is reflected in the origin of the name—based on the British television series “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” and the “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” movie. There is a common practice of using Monty Python references in sample code, and in the sometimes playful approach to tutorials and reference materials. For example, the metasyntactic variables often used in Python literature are spam and eggs, instead of the traditional foo and bar.
10Python Runs on .NET and Java Virtual Machine (JVM)
Developers can integrate Python with COM (Component Object Model), Microsoft’s .NET and CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) objects. For Java libraries, developers can use Jython, an implementation of Python for the JVM. For .NET, developers can use IronPython, Microsoft’s implementation of Python for .NET, or Python for .NET.
11Python Supports Multiple Integration Technologies
12Python Comes with Batteries Included
Fans of Python use the phrase “batteries included” to describe the standard library, which covers everything from asynchronous processing to .zip files. The language itself is flexible enough to handle practically any problem domain. Developers can build their own Web server in three lines of code. Or they can build flexible data-driven code using Python’s powerful and dynamic introspection capabilities and advanced language features such as meta-classes, duck typing and decorators.
13With Python, Its a Wrap
If you find something that Python cannot do, or if you need the performance advantage of low-level code, you can write extension modules in C or C++, or wrap existing code with SWIG (Simplified Wrapper and Interface Generator) or Boost.Python. Wrapped modules appear to your program exactly like native Python code. That’s language integration made easy. You can also go the opposite route and embed Python in your own application, providing your users with a language they’ll enjoy using.
14Python Ranks 7th as Most Popular Programming Language
15Google App Engine Launched with Python
16Popular Python Integrated Development Environments
Some of the known Python IDEs (integrated development environments) include Boa Constructor, a cross-platform IDE for Python development; EasyEclipse, an open-source IDE for Python and other languages; Eric, an IDE for Python and Ruby; PIDA (Python Integrated Development Application), an open-source IDE written in Python capable of embedding other text editors, such as Vim; SPE (Stani’s Python Editor), a cross-platform IDE for Python development; Webware for Python, a suite of programming tools for constructing Web-based applications in Python; and Wing IDE, an IDE for Python development.