2. Table of Contents
• Introduction
• History
• Why Named as Python?
• Features
• Supported Platforms
• Comparison with other languages
• Why should you learn Python?
• Big Names in Python’s Users
• Applications
• References
3. Introduction
• Python is an high level, interpreted, interactive and
object-oriented programming language created by Guido
Van Rossum in 1989
• Open source and community driven
• Source code is also available under the GNU General
Public License (GPL)
• Ideally designed for rapid prototyping of complex
applications
• It has simple easy-to-use syntax, making it the perfect
language for someone trying to learn computer
programming for the first time
4. History(1/2)
• Python was developed in the late eighties and early
nineties at the National Research Institute for
Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands
• ABC programming language is said to be the predecessor
of Python language which was capable of Exception
Handling and interfacing with Amoeba Operating
System
• Guido Van Rossum published the first version of Python
code (version 0.9.0) at alt.sources in February 1991. This
release included already exception handling, functions,
and the core data types of list, dict, str and others. It was
also object oriented and had a module system
5. History(2/2)
• Release Dates of Different Versions
Version Release Date
Python 1.0 (first standard release)
Python 1.6 (Last minor version)
January 1994
September 5, 2000
Python 2.0 (Introduced list comprehensions)
Python 2.7 (Last minor version)
October 16, 2000
July 3, 2010
Python 3.0 (Emphasis on removing duplicative
constructs and module)
Python 3.6.3 (Last updated version)
December 3, 2008
October 3, 2017
6. Why Named as Python?
• Named after a British sketch comedy
series ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’
and not after python-the snake
7. Features(1/2)
• Simple and Easy To Learn - Python is a beginner-friendly
programming language that’s easy to learn, regardless of your
experience/knowledge with the language. Its simplistic syntax
makes learning fun and easy
• Open Source - It is open source so you can freely download and
use. Python language is freely available(www.python.org)
• Platform Independent - It is platform independent
programming language, its code easily run on any platform such as
Windows, Linux, Unix , Macintosh etc. Thus, Python is a portable
language.
• Object Oriented - Python supports object oriented language.
Concept of classes and objects comes into existence.
8. Features(2/2)
• Integrated - It can be easily integrated with languages such as C,
C++, COM, ActiveX, CORBA, and Java
• Large Standard Library - Comes with a large standard library
that supports many common programming tasks such as connecting
to web servers, searching text with regular expressions, reading and
modifying files
• Interpreted - Python code is interpreted by interpreter line by line
at a time
• GUI Programming - Graphical user interfaces can be developed
using Python. Python has a huge number of GUI frameworks (or
toolkits) available for it
10. Comparison with other languages
Features C C++ Java Python
Object Oriented No Yes Yes Yes
Readability Difficult Difficult Difficult Easy
Language Programming Programming Programming Programming
and scripting
Type Checking Static Static Static Dynamic
Type expression Explicit Explicit Explicit Implicit
Functional No Yes No Yes
Length of Code 5-10 times
greater than
python
5-10 times
greater than
python
3-5 times
greater than
python
Small and
manageable
codes
11. Why should you learn Python?
• As already discussed, Python has simple easy-to-use syntax, making
it the perfect language for someone trying to learn computer
programming for the first time
• According to the TIOBE Index, it is among top 5 programming
languages
• Average salary of Python developer in India is ₹3,36,857 per year and
$116,019 per year in US(Source-indeed.com)
13. Applications(1/2)
• GUI-Based Desktop Applications - There are various GUI toolkits like
wxPython, PyQt or PyGtk available which help developers create highly functional
Graphical User Interface (GUI). The various applications developed using Python
includes:
Image Processing and Graphic Design Applications - Python has been
used to make 2D imaging software such as Inkscape, GIMP, Paint Shop
Pro. Further, 3D animation packages, like Blender, Lightwave and Maya, also use
Python in variable proportions
Scientific and Computational Applications - 3D modeling software, such
as FreeCAD, and finite element method software, such as Abaqus, are coded in
Python
Games - There have been numerous games built using Python including
Battlefield 2, Civilization-IV, Disney’s Toontown Online, Vega Strike, etc
• Operating Systems - Python is often an integral part of Linux distributions. For
instance, Ubuntu’s Ubiquity Installer, and Fedora’s and Red Hat Enterprise Linux’s
Anaconda Installer are written in Python
14. Applications(2/2)
• Language Development - Python’s design and module architecture has
influenced development of numerous languages. syntax of languages like Apple’s
Swift, CoffeeScript, Cobra, and OCaml all share similarity with Python.
• Web Frameworks and Web Applications - Python has been used to create a
variety of web-frameworks including Django, Bottle, Flask etc. Plone, a content
management system; ERP5, an open source ERP which is used in aerospace, apparel
and banking; and Google App engine are a few of the popular web applications based
on Python
• Enterprise and Business Applications - Python is a suitable coding language
for customizing larger applications. Reddit, which was originally written in Common
Lips, was rewritten in Python in 2005. Python also contributed in a large part to
functionality in YouTube
• Prototyping - Besides being quick and easy to learn, Python also has the open
source advantage of being free with the support of a large community. This makes it
the preferred choice for prototype development
