{"id":322,"date":"2013-08-28T19:09:08","date_gmt":"2013-08-28T19:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/?p=322"},"modified":"2019-09-10T17:21:59","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T17:21:59","slug":"what-is-python-the-python-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/2013\/08\/28\/what-is-python-the-python-language\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Python? The Python Language"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Python is by far one of the most beautiful programming languages in the world. Webhostpython.com completely supports the entire Python language, community, and it&#8217;s frameworks, such as the very popular &#8216;django&#8217; framework. Hence the name: Webhost<strong>python!<\/strong><br \/>\nPython was founded sometime in the late 80&#8217;s, early 90&#8217;s by Guido Van Rossum. We do not want to take away, nor add to, the powerful information relating to Python, so we have decided to pate the information, with respects to the Python Project, directly on here:<\/p>\n<p>Python is a remarkably powerful dynamic programming language that is used in a wide variety of application domains. Python is often compared to Tcl, Perl, Ruby, Scheme or Java. Some of its key distinguishing features include:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"simple\">\n<li>very clear, readable syntax<\/li>\n<li>strong introspection capabilities<\/li>\n<li>intuitive object orientation<\/li>\n<li>natural expression of procedural code<\/li>\n<li>full modularity, supporting hierarchical packages<\/li>\n<li>exception-based error handling<\/li>\n<li>very high level dynamic data types<\/li>\n<li>extensive standard libraries and third party modules for virtually every task<\/li>\n<li>extensions and modules easily written in C, C++ (or Java for Jython, or .NET languages for IronPython)<\/li>\n<li>embeddable within applications as a scripting interface<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"python-is-powerful-and-fast\" class=\"section\">\n<h2>Python is powerful&#8230; and fast<\/h2>\n<p>Fans of Python use the phrase &#8220;batteries included&#8221; to describe the <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/docs.python.org\/3\/library\/\">standard library<\/a>, which covers everything from asynchronous processing to zip files. The language itself is a flexible powerhouse that can handle practically any <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.python.org\/about\/apps\">problem domain<\/a>. Build your own web server in three lines of code. Build flexible data-driven code using Python&#8217;s powerful and dynamic introspection capabilities and advanced language features such as <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.onlamp.com\/pub\/a\/python\/2003\/04\/17\/metaclasses.html\">meta-classes<\/a>, <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Duck_typing\">duck typing<\/a> and<a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.python.org\/dev\/peps\/pep-0318\/\">decorators<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Python lets you write the code you need, quickly. And, thanks to a highly optimized byte compiler and support libraries, Python code runs more than fast enough for most applications. The traditional implementation of CPython uses a bytecode virtual machine; <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/pypy.org\/\">PyPy<\/a> supports just-in-time (JIT) compilation to machine code. Also, Jython and IronPython (see below) support JIT compilation on their respective virtual machine implementations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"python-plays-well-with-others\" class=\"section\">\n<h2>Python plays well with others<\/h2>\n<p>Python can integrate with <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/sourceforge.net\/projects\/pywin32\/\">COM<\/a>, <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.zope.org\/Members\/Brian\/PythonNet\">.NET<\/a>, and <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/aspn.activestate.com\/ASPN\/Cookbook\/Python\/Recipe\/81254\">CORBA<\/a> objects.<\/p>\n<p>For Java libraries, use <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jython.org\/\">Jython<\/a>, an implementation of Python for the Java Virtual Machine.<\/p>\n<p>For .NET, try <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ironpython.net\/\">IronPython<\/a> , Microsoft&#8217;s new implementation of Python for .NET, or <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/pythonnet.sourceforge.net\/\">Python for .NET<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Python is also supported for the <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.zeroc.com\/ice.html\">Internet Communications Engine (ICE)<\/a> and many other integration technologies.<\/p>\n<p>If you find something that Python cannot do, or if you need the performance advantage of low-level code, you can write <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/docs.python.org\/3\/extending\/\">extension modules<\/a> in C or C++, or wrap existing code with <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.swig.org\/\">SWIG<\/a> or <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.boost.org\/libs\/python\/doc\/\">Boost.Python<\/a>. Wrapped modules appear to your program exactly like native Python code. That&#8217;s language integration made easy. You can also go the opposite route and <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/docs.python.org\/3\/extending\/embedding.html\">embed Python<\/a> in your own application, providing your users with a language they&#8217;ll enjoy using.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"python-runs-everywhere\" class=\"section\">\n<h2>Python runs everywhere<\/h2>\n<p>Python is available for all major operating systems: Windows, Linux\/Unix, OS\/2, Mac, Amiga, among others. There are even versions that run on <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/ironpython.net\/\">.NET<\/a> and the<a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jython.org\/\">Java virtual machine<\/a>. You&#8217;ll be pleased to know that the same source code will run unchanged across all implementations.<\/p>\n<p>Your favorite system isn&#8217;t listed here? It may still support Python if there&#8217;s a C compiler for it. Ask around on <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"news:comp.lang.python\">news:comp.lang.python<\/a> &#8211; or just try compiling Python yourself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"python-is-friendly-and-easy-to-learn\" class=\"section\">\n<h2>Python is friendly&#8230; and easy to learn<\/h2>\n<p>The Python newsgroup is known as one of the friendliest around. The avid developer and user <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.python.org\/community\">community<\/a> maintains a <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/wiki.python.org\/moin\/\">wiki<\/a>, hosts international and local<a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.python.org\/community\/workshops\">conferences<\/a>, runs development sprints, and contributes to online code repositories.<\/p>\n<p>Python also comes with complete <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.python.org\/doc\">documentation<\/a>, both integrated into the language and as separate web pages. Online tutorials target both the <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/wiki.python.org\/moin\/BeginnersGuide\/Programmers\">seasoned programmer<\/a> and the <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/wiki.python.org\/moin\/BeginnersGuide\/NonProgrammers\">newcomer<\/a>. All are designed to make you productive quickly. The availability of first-rate <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/wiki.python.org\/moin\/PythonBooks\">books<\/a> completes the learning package.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"python-is-open\" class=\"section\">\n<h2>Python is Open<\/h2>\n<p>The Python implementation is under an open source license that makes it <strong>freely usable and distributable, even for commercial use<\/strong>. The <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.python.org\/psf\/license\/\">Python license<\/a> is administered by the <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.python.org\/psf\/\">Python Software Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Take a look at <a class=\"reference external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.python.org\/about\/apps\">application domains<\/a> where Python is used, or try the current download for yourself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Python is by far one of the most beautiful programming languages in the world. Webhostpython.com completely supports the entire Python language, community, and it&#8217;s frameworks, such as the very popular &#8216;django&#8217; framework. Hence the name: Webhostpython! Python was founded sometime in the late 80&#8217;s, early 90&#8217;s by Guido Van Rossum. We do not want to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-322","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-python-and-django"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webhostpython.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}