Understanding Python from a PHP coder's perspective

[villascape at gmail.com]

Hello all!  Just started getting into Python, and am very excited about the prospect.

I am struggling on some general concepts.  My past experience with server-side code is mostly limited to PHP and websites.  I have some file called "whatever.php", the browser accesses it, and PHP parses it and returns HTML, JSON, etc.  Every now and then, I need to run some background PHP script, or have some PHP script initiated by a CRON job, or have some PHP script initiated by the command line running in an endless loop, and while it works, feel other languages might be more appropriate.

So, my interest in Python...

I've read up on Python, and while some aspects seem similar to PHP, some don't.  I have learned how to create Python script, have run it from the command line, and have even accessed it with Apache by placing http://example.com/myscript.py in the browser.  I am used to seeing .php extensions, but never .py extentions, and even visited multiple sites which I knew were written in Python, but never saw the browser expose the .py extensions.  I am obviously missing something.

Why don't I see the .py extension in my browser?

Is Python event driven like PHP, or is it somehow different?

How should I view Python differently than PHP?

Thank you