Python is a high-level, multi-paradigm programming language developed by a Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum and is first released in 1991.
The language is so easy to understand that a person either having or not having a basic knowledge of computer programming can get started with python as first programming language.
It is designed to make the source code highly readable so that development becomes easy and time-effective.
As most of the interpreters are usually written in C, the main python interpreter which is known as CPython is also written in C.
Since python is a multi-paradigm programming language, it includes following programming paradigms support :
Object-Oriented- Python is object-oriented which means you can organize codes into objects and modify them.
Imperative- Python is imperative which means you can use statements to change a program’s state.
Functional- Python is functional which means you can use built-in functions and create your own functions to structure, organize and reuse codes to perform a particular action.
Procedural- Python is procedural which means it follows step by step procedures(routines, subroutines or functions) to solve a particular problem. You can call any given procedure anytime during execution of a program by other procedures or itself.
Reflective- Python is reflective which means it has ability to observe and modify a program’s behaviour, structure or execution at runtime. A program can be adapted to different situations dynamically.
History Of Python Programming Language
It was in late 1980’s, when Guido van Rossum came up with an idea to develop a programming language while working in CWI(Centrum Wiskunde and Informatica), Amsterdam, for a project named Amoeba which is a distributed operating system.
He along with his team was using ABC language for their project which was not able to handle exceptions and interface with the Amoeba Operating System.
In December, 1989, he actually started implementing his ideas to develop a new programming language that is capable of exception handling with several other programming paradigms.
Rossum being a big fan of a British sketch comedy series, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, named the language as Python.
Python came into sight on 20 Feb, 1991 for the very first time. It started gaining popularity and influenced many other programming languages to evolve such as JavaScript, Ruby, Swift, Cobra just to name a few.
In the year 2007 and 2010, it has received TIOBE’s Programming Language of the Year award for its immense popularity and adoption.
Features Of Python Programming Language
Python Programming Language has a bunch of features which are described below in detail.
Easy to Read, Learn and Use- Python does not involve the use of complex syntaxes which makes it a highly readable language. It is also very easy language to learn and use in web development and GUI-based applications.
Interpreted Language- Python is an interpreted language. Like Java and several other programming languages, you don’t need to compile your codes to execute the program.
Following is a list of Python Interpreters.
- CPython
- PyPy
- Stackless Python
Interactive Language- Python is an interactive language, which means you can write your programs in Python prompt thus enabling you to interact with the interpreter.
Portable- Since a python program has the ability to run on all platforms such as Windows, MacOS, Linux etc., thus making it a highly portable language.
Free and Open Source- Python is freely available on the internet and being an open source language it allows you to make changes to the source code.
Huge Library- Python has a huge standard library that includes support for MIME and HTTP and several modules for GUI development, performing unit testing, database connectivity etc.
Cross-Compilation- You can actually use python codes in other languages by means of several compilers that are listed below.
- Jython- compiles Python code to Java Bytecode
- Pyjs- compiles Python code to JavaScript
- Cython- compiles Python code to C and C++
- Pythran- compiles Python code to C++
- Google’s Grumpy- compiles Python code to Go(also known as Golang)
- IronPython- it is used to run Python programs on .NET Framework.