Python

Python is an interpreted programming language created by Guido van Rossum in 1990. Python is fully dynamically typed and uses automatic memory management; it is thus similar to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, Smalltalk, and Tcl. Python is developed as an open source project, managed by the non-profit Python Software Foundation.

Philosophy

Python is a multi-paradigm language. This means that, rather than forcing coders to adopt one particular style of coding, it permits several. Object orientation, structured programming, functional programming, aspect-oriented programming, and more recently, design by contract are all supported. Python is dynamically type-checked and uses garbage collection for memory management. An important feature of Python is dynamic name resolution, which binds method and variable names during program execution.

While offering choice in coding methodology, Python's designers reject exuberant syntax, such as in Perl, in favor of a sparser, less cluttered one. As with Perl, Python's developers expressly promote a particular "culture" or ideology based on what they want the language to be, favoring language forms they see as "beautiful", "explicit" and "simple". For the most part, Perl and Python users differ in their interpretation of these terms and how they are best implemented (see TIMTOWTDI and PythonPhilosophy).

Another important goal of the Python developers is making Python fun to use. This is reflected in the origin of the name (after the television series Monty Python's Flying Circus), in the common practice of using Monty Python references in example code, and in an occasionally playful approach to tutorials and reference materials.

Python is sometimes referred to as a "scripting language". In practice, it is used as a dynamic programming language for both application development and occasional scripting. Python has been used to develop many large software projects such as the Zope application server and the Mnet and BitTorrent file sharing systems. It is also extensively used by Google.

Another important goal of the language is ease of extensibility. New built-in modules are easily written in C or C++. Python can also be used as an extension language for existing modules and applications that need a programmable interface.

Though the design of Python is somewhat hostile to functional programming and the Lisp tradition, there are significant parallels between the philosophy of Python and that of minimalist Lisp-family languages such as Scheme. Many past Lisp programmers have found Python appealing for this reason.