History of Python

The programming language Python was conceived in the late 1980s,^[1] and its implementation was started in December 1989^[2] by Guido van Rossum at CWI in the Netherlands as a successor to ABC capable of exception handling and interfacing with the Amoeba operating system.^[3] Van Rossum was Python's principal author and had a central role in deciding the direction of Python (as reflected in the title given to him by the Python community, Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL)^[4]^[5]) until stepping down as leader on July 12, 2018.^[6]. Python was named after the BBC TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus.^[7]

Python 2.0 was released on October 16, 2000, with many major new features, such as list comprehensions, cycle-detecting garbage collector (in addition to reference counting) and reference counting, for memory management and support for Unicode, along with a change to the development process itself, with a shift to a more transparent and community-backed process.^[8]

Python 3.0, a major, backwards-incompatible release, was released on December 3, 2008^[9] after a long period of testing. Many of its major features were also backported to the backwards-compatible Python versions 2.6 and 2.7^[10] until support for Python 2 finally ceased at the beginning of 2020. Releases of Python 3 include the 2to3 utility, which automates the translation of Python 2 code to Python 3.^[11]

^ "The Making of Python". Artima Developer. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
^ Cite error: The named reference timeline-of-python was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Why was Python created in the first place?". Python FAQ. Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
^ van Rossum, Guido (July 31, 2008). "Origin of BDFL". Archived from the original on January 16, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2008.
^ "Python Creator Scripts Inside Google". www.eweek.com. March 7, 2006. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
^ Fairchild, Carlie (July 12, 2018). "Guido van Rossum Stepping Down from Role as Python's Benevolent Dictator For Life". Linux Journal. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
^ "General Python FAQ — Python 3.8.3 documentation". docs.python.org. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
^ Kuchling, Andrew M.; Zadka, Moshe. "What's New in Python 2.0". Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
^ "Welcome to Python.org". python.org. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
^ Cite error: The named reference pep-3000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "2to3 – Automated Python 2 to 3 code translation". docs.python.org. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.

[venners-interview-pt-1-1] "The Making of Python". Artima Developer. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2007.

[timeline-of-python-2] Cite error: The named reference timeline-of-python was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[faq-created-3] "Why was Python created in the first place?". Python FAQ. Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2007.

[4] van Rossum, Guido (July 31, 2008). "Origin of BDFL". Archived from the original on January 16, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2008.

[5] "Python Creator Scripts Inside Google". www.eweek.com. March 7, 2006. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2008.

[6] Fairchild, Carlie (July 12, 2018). "Guido van Rossum Stepping Down from Role as Python's Benevolent Dictator For Life". Linux Journal. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.

[7] "General Python FAQ — Python 3.8.3 documentation". docs.python.org. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2020.

[newin-2.0-8] Kuchling, Andrew M.; Zadka, Moshe. "What's New in Python 2.0". Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2007.

[3.0-release-9] "Welcome to Python.org". python.org. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2016.

[pep-3000-10] Cite error: The named reference pep-3000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[11] "2to3 – Automated Python 2 to 3 code translation". docs.python.org. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]