New blurb, derived from my Handbook of Object Technology abstract.

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Guido van Rossum 1997-11-20 15:42:18 +00:00
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What is Python?
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What is Python? Executive Summary
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Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming
language. It incorporates modules, exceptions, dynamic typing, very
high level dynamic data types, and classes. Python combines
remarkable power with very clear syntax. It has interfaces to many
system calls and libraries, as well as to various window systems, and
is extensible in C or C++. It is also usable as an extension language
for applications that need a programmable interface. Finally, Python
is portable: it runs on many brands of UNIX, on the Mac, and on
MS-DOS.
Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level programming
language with dynamic semantics. Its high-level built in data
structures, combined with dynamic typing and dynamic binding, make it
very attractive for Rapid Application Development, as well as for use
as a scripting or glue language to connect existing components
together. Python's simple, easy to learn syntax emphasizes
readability and therefore reduces the cost of program maintenance.
Python supports modules and packages, which encourages program
modularity and code reuse. The Python interpreter and the extensive
standard library are available in source or binary form without charge
for all major platforms, and can be freely distributed.
As a short example of what Python looks like, here's a script to
print prime numbers (not blazingly fast, but readable!). When this
file is made executable, it is callable directly from the UNIX shell
(if your system supports #! in scripts and the python interpreter is
installed at the indicated place).
#!/usr/local/bin/python
# Print prime numbers in a given range
def main():
import sys
min, max = 2, 0x7fffffff
if sys.argv[1:]:
min = int(eval(sys.argv[1]))
if sys.argv[2:]:
max = int(eval(sys.argv[2]))
primes(min, max)
def primes(min, max):
if 2 >= min: print 2
primes = [2]
i = 3
while i <= max:
for p in primes:
if i%p == 0 or p*p > i: break
if i%p <> 0:
primes.append(i)
if i >= min: print i
i = i+2
main()
Often, programmers fall in love with Python because of the increased
productivity it provides. Since there is no compilation step, the
edit-test-debug cycle is incredibly fast. Debugging Python programs is
easy: a bug or bad input will never cause a segmentation
fault. Instead, when the interpreter discovers an error, it raises an
exception. When the program doesn't catch the exception, the
interpreter prints a stack trace. A source level debugger allows
inspection of local and global variables, evaluation of arbitrary
expressions, setting breakpoints, stepping through the code a line at
a time, and so on. The debugger is written in Python itself,
testifying to Python's introspective power. On the other hand, often
the quickest way to debug a program is to add a few print statements
to the source: the fast edit-test-debug cycle makes this simple
approach very effective.