Python Programming Language
Python is an open source, object oriented, high-level programming language. It was developed by Guido van Rossum in 1991 at the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science, the Netherlands. It is presently owned by Python Software Foundation(PSF).
Python is based on the ABC language, a teaching language created to replace the programming language BASIC, which developed earlier.
Python is a general-purpose programming language that can be used effectively to build any kind of program that does not require direct access to the computer hardware.
Python is based on the ABC language and the name was inspired by the famous BBC comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus .
Why to use Python?
- Platform Independent : It can run across different platforms like Windows, Linux/Unix, MacOS and other operating systems.
- Readability : Python programs use clear, simple, concise and English like instructions that are easy to read and understand.
- Object-Oriented Programming Language: It is an interactive, interpreted and Object-Oriented Programming Language.
- Higher Productivity: Since Python is a simple language with small codes and extensive libraries, it offers higher productivity to programmers than languages like C++ and Java. So, you write less and get more done.
- Less learning time: Because of a simple and Shorter code, lesser time is required to understand and learn Python Programming.
- GUI Programming: Python supports GUI applications that can be created and ported to many system calls, libraries and Windows systems such as Window MFC (Microsoft Foundation Class library). Macintosh and the X window system of Unix.
- Ample Availability of Libraries: It provides large standard libraries to solve a task.
- Syntax Highlighting: It allows to distinguish between input, output and error messages by different colour codes
Limitations of Python
- Speed: Python is slower than C or C++.
- Mobile Development: Python is not a very good language for mobile development. It is seen as a weak language for mobile computing. This is the reason very few mobile applications are built in it.
- Memory Consumption: Python is not a good choice for memory-intensive tasks. Due to the flexibility of the data types, Python's memory consumption is also high.
- Database Access: Python has limitations with database access.
- Runtime Errors: Python Programmers have cited several issues with the design of the language. Because the language is dynamically typed, it requires more testing and has errors that only show up at run-time.
To install python, we must first get the installation package of of the required version from the link/URL given below:
Our First Program
So, we begin with our first command in Python Interactive Mode. It looks like this: