What is python? It's History, Features & disadvantages

What is Python?

Python is a general purpose high-level interpreted programming language. It is known for its simplicity, readability, and versatility. It is not restricted to a specific reason to use it. We can use it for developing web application, mobile application, machine learning application, data science and so on. It supports multiple programming paradigms, including object-oriented, procedural, and scripting programming. Hence it is an All Rounder. Python is widely used in web development, data analysis, artificial intelligence, automation, and more.

History of Python

Guido Van Rossum developed Python language while working in National Research Institute (NRI) in Netherland in the year 1989. Officially Python was made available to public in 1991. The official Date of Birth for Python is : Feb 20th 1991. Python become popular in the year 2019.

Created by: Guido van Rossum

First released: 1991

Originally Developed at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands as a successor to the ABC language.

Why the name 'Python'?

If you are a fan of any hero or heroine or political leader, generally you try to use same name for your passwords or user ids. It's a very common practice. In The same, Guido Van Rossum was also very much impressed with one fun show, The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus, which was broadcasted in BBC from 1969 to 1974. From this show name, he selected the word Python to his programming language

Releases:

Python 2.0 (2000): Introduced features like garbage collection and list comprehensions.

Python 3.0 (2008): Major redesign that is not backward compatible with Python 2, focusing on fixing design flaws.

Features of Python

• Easy to Learn and Use: Simple syntax similar to English.
• Open source and freeware : Available over internet freely.
• Interpreted Language: Executes code line-by-line, useful for debugging.
• Dynamically Typed: No need to declare variable types.
• Extensive Standard Library: Rich set of modules and tools out-of-the-box.
• Cross-platform and portable: Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, etc.
• Object-Oriented, Functional & Scripted: Supports multiple paradigms.
• Large Community Support: Extensive documentation, tutorials, and active forums.
• Third-party Modules: Thousands of packages (via PyPI) to extend functionality.
• Ideal for Automation: Frequently used in scripting and task automation.

Disadvantages of Python

• Slower Speed: Compared to compiled languages like C or Java.
• Memory Usage: Higher consumption due to dynamic typing.
• Not Ideal for Mobile Development: Rarely used for mobile apps.
• Design Restrictions: Less suitable for performance-critical applications.
• Global Interpreter Lock (GIL): Limits true multi-threading, affecting parallel execution in CPU-bound tasks.

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