Python is a general-purpose interpreted, interactive, object-oriented, and high-level programming language.
Python was developed by
Guido van Rossum in the late eighties and early nineties at the National
Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands.
Python is derived from
many other languages, including ABC, Modula-3, C, C++, Algol-68, SmallTalk, and
Unix shell and other scripting languages.
Python source code is
also available under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
Python is designed to
be highly readable. It uses English keywords frequently where as other
languages use punctuation, and it has fewer syntactical constructions than
other languages.
Key advantages of
learning Python:
- Python is Interpreted −
Python is processed at runtime by the interpreter.
- Python is Interactive −
You can actually sit at a Python prompt and interact with the interpreter
directly to write your programs.
- Python is Object-Oriented −
Python supports Object-Oriented style or technique of programming that
encapsulates code within objects.
- Python is a Beginner's Language −
Python is a great language for the beginner-level programmers and supports
the development of a wide range of applications from simple text
processing, browsers, games so on…
Important
characteristics of Python Programming −
- It supports functional and
structured programming methods as well as OOP.
- It can be used as a scripting
language or can be compiled to byte-code for building large applications.
- It provides very high-level dynamic
data types and supports dynamic type checking.
- It supports automatic garbage
collection.
- It can be easily integrated with C,
C++, COM, ActiveX, CORBA, and Java.