Python

= Python = toc

Python is an object-oriented programming language that allows coding in many different styles. It is part of many popular operating systems, is implemented in services like YouTube, and is used by major companies like Google and Yahoo. The intellectual property rights for the language of Python belong to the Python Software Foundation, though it is available for free as an open source product. Python is known for its clarity and flexibility and is recommended for beginner programmers.

History
Guido van Rossum invented Python between 1989-91, in response to a need to ease system administration on an Amoeba project he was working on at CWI. A new generally-extensible language was needed to perform tasks with Amoeba’s unique system call interface that couldn’t be handled with existing tools. The general-purpose nature of Python has gone on to solve countless such problems since.

Characteristics
Python is known for its clear syntax and is often compared to Perl, Ruby, and Java. It includes a large library of system calls and other tools that programmers can use for free. Extensions and modules written in C or C++ can be added to Python to enhance its capability. Because of its compatibility with other languages and ability to handle high level dynamic data types, Python stands out as a particularly flexible yet powerful scripting language. The Python Software Foundation cites these important features of Python: 
 * "A variety of basic data types are available: numbers (floating point, complex, and unlimited-length long integers), strings (both ASCII and Unicode), lists, and dictionaries.
 * Python supports object-oriented programming with classes and multiple inheritance.
 * Code can be grouped into modules and packages.
 * The language supports raising and catching exceptions, resulting in cleaner error handling.
 * Data types are strongly and dynamically typed. Mixing incompatible types (e.g. attempting to add a string and a number) causes an exception to be raised, so errors are caught sooner.
 * Python contains advanced programming features such as generators and list comprehensions.
 * Python's automatic memory management frees you from having to manually allocate and free memory in your code."

Hello World!
Check out this short video demonstrating a basic program in Python.

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 * References **

Python Software Foundation.  General Python FAQ . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://docs.python.org/faq/general.html

Python beginner's guide: Overview <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">. (2008, November 15). Retrieved from []