Introduction to Python

6.1 History of Python Language

Python was created in the early 1990s by Guido van Rossum in the Netherlands. The main goal was to make Python easy and readable, allowing programmers to write logical and clear programs at all levels of complexity. Python was quite a simple language, especially compared to the dominant C language at that time.

The first version of Python, Python 1.0, was released in February 1991. This version already had exceptions, functions, modules, and data types, which significantly simplified the programming process. Over the subsequent years, Python gradually evolved. New features and extensions appeared in the language.

With the release of Python 2.0 in 2000, the language added Unicode support, a significant step forward for international application support. Python 2 also implemented a garbage collection system and support for full-fledged modules.

In December 2008, a significantly updated version Python 3.0 was released, which was not backwards compatible with previous versions. The new version brought improvements in areas such as string handling (all strings became Unicode by default), improved data model, and syntax. All of this made Python more powerful and convenient.

Since then, the Python community has grown significantly. Python is used in areas such as web development, scientific research, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data processing, and many others. Thanks to its expressiveness, flexibility, and wide range of libraries, Python holds a leading position among programming languages used for educational and professional purposes worldwide.

But let's be real! Python has its share of quirks. But it's really simple, and that's its ace up the sleeve that nobody can beat. Its simplicity and clean syntax continue to attract new programmers, making Python one of the most popular programming languages today.

6.2 Python Versions

If major changes are made in Python that break its compatibility with previous versions, then the language version is incremented by 1. In fact, this creates a new language, although similar to the previous one, but significantly different from it.

There are 3 versions of Python: 1, 2, 3, which are incompatible with each other. Version 1 is old news, but versions 2 and 3 continued to evolve simultaneously. So there's a lot of documentation and examples on the internet for both versions 2.x and 3.x. Don't mix them up.

Every year, small changes are added to Python. Since version 3.8, it hasn't changed much. Now a "new version of Python" comes out every year, but it's only marked by a number after the dot:

Python developers say they "want version 4.x to never be released" — implying they don't want to break backward code compatibility anymore. So if all goes as planned, by 2074 we'll see Python version 3.62.

We will study Python and its libraries based on version 3.12, but no major changes are expected in the coming years. So if you're reading this in 2025, when Python 3.13 is out, all the material is still relevant.

6.3 Where Python is Used Today

Today, Python is one of the leaders in the programming world. It's widely used across different areas due to its flexibility, power, and ease of use. Here are the main fields where it's applied:

Web Development: With frameworks like Django and Flask, Python is widely used for building websites and web applications. It enables quick development of secure and scalable web services.

Science and Data Analysis: Python is a leading language in scientific research, data analysis, and machine learning due to libraries like NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, and Scikit-learn.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Python offers powerful tools such as TensorFlow, Keras, and PyTorch, making it a preferred choice for AI and deep learning projects.

Automation and Scripting: Python's simplicity makes it ideal for writing scripts that automate routine tasks and processes in system administration and software testing.

Game Development: Using libraries like Pygame, developers can create games and other graphical applications in Python.

Financial Sector: Banks and financial institutions use Python for financial data analysis, risk modeling, and trade automation.

Internet of Things (IoT): Python is used for developing IoT devices and systems because it can run on various devices, including microcontrollers.

Education and Academic Research: The language often serves as an introductory course in universities for teaching programming and is also used in research projects for prototyping and testing new ideas.

The Python developer community is constantly growing, with new libraries, frameworks, and solutions being developed. Recently, Python has been actively used for Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

So, deciding to become a Python developer is the right and far-sighted choice!