January 3, 2005 What is python?
Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming language. It is offen compared to TCL, Perl, Scheme or Java.
Python combines remarkable power with very clear syntax. It has modules, classes, exceptions, very high level dynamic data types, and dynamic typing. There are interfaces to many system calls and libraries, as well as to various windowing systems (X11, Motif, TK, Mac, MFC). New Built-in MODULES ARE Easily Written In C . Python IS Also Usable As An Extension Language for Applications That NEED A ProgramMable Interface.
The Python implementation is portable: it runs on many brands of UNIX, on Windows, OS / 2, Mac, Amiga, and many other platforms If your favorite system is not listed here, it may still be supported, if there's a C. Compiler for it. ask arround on news: comp.lang.python - or just try concerning python yourself.following is the python introduction: January 3, 2005
Python is a portable, interpreted, object-oriented programming language Its development started in 1990 at CWI in Amsterdam, and continues under the ownership of the Python Software Foundation The language has an elegant (but not over-simplified) syntax;.. A small number of powerful high-level data types are built in. Python can be extended in a systematic fashion by adding new modules implemented in a compiled language such as C or C . Such extension modules can define new functions and variables as well as new object types .
Here's A Simple Function Written in Python, Which Inverts A Table (Represented as a Python Dictionary):
DEF Invert (Table):
INDEX = {} # Empty Dictionary
For key in Table.Keys ():
Value = Table [key]
IF not index.has_key (value): index [value] = [] # EMPTY LIST
Index [Value] .append (key)
Return Index
Note How Python Usess Indentation for Statement Grouping. Comments Are Introducesd by A # Character.
Here's An Example of Interactive Use of this function ("> "is the interpreter's prompt):
>>> phonebook = {'guido': 4127, 'sjoerd': 4127, 'jack': 4098}
>>> Phonebook ['DCAB'] = 4147 # add an entry
>>> Inveted_Phonebook = Invert (Phonebook)
>>> Print Inverted_Phonebook
{4098: ['Jack'], 4127: ['Guido', 'Sjoerd'], 4147: ['DCAB']}
>>>
Python has a full set of string operations (including regular expression matching), and frees the user from most hassles of memory management. These and other features make it an ideal language for prototype development and other ad-hoc programming tasks.
Python also has some features that make it possible to write large programs, even though it lacks most forms of compile-time checking: a program can be constructed out of a number of modules, each of which defines its own name space, and modules can Define Classes Which Provide Further Encapsulation. Exception Handling Makes It Possible To Catch Errors Where Required WITHOUT CHECKING.
A large number of extension modules have been developed for Python. Some are part of the standard library of tools, usable in any Python program (eg the math library and regular expressions). Others are specific to a particular platform or environment (for example, UNIX, IP networking, or X11) or provide application-specific functionality (such as image or sound processing) .Python also provides facilities for introspection, so that a debugger or profiler (or other development tools) for Python programs can be written in Python ITSelf. There is also a generic way to communication an Object Into a stream of bytes and back, Which can be used to import object personistency as well as various distributed object models.
