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  • Python Documentation Index

    Python Documentation Index Python Essays In this directory I place short essays (anything from 500 to 5000 words) on various Python subjects. See also a collection of presentations I have given. See also my blog at blogspot.com and my previous blog at artima.com. --Guido van Rossum Table of contents (in mostly chronological order) Unifying types and classes in Python 2.2 (See below) Foreword for "Programming Python" (1st ed.) Written in 1996, this gives an overview of the earl...

  • What is Python? Executive Summary

    What is Python? Executive Summary What is Python? Executive Summary 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 r...

  • Proposed Improvements to Module Cleanup

    Proposed Improvements to Module Cleanup Proposed Improvements to Module Cleanup I'm experimenting with a better way of cleaning up at the end of an execution run. Without implementing true GC, I can never do it 100% right, but I can implement a predictable set of rules based on practical observation that will solve most problems that are actually observed. Here's my proposal. At the end of this message I list some potential problems with the proposal and ask for feedback. This wi...

  • Foreword for "Programming Python" (2nd ed.)

    Foreword for "Programming Python" (2nd ed.) Foreword for "Programming Python" (2nd ed.) This is the foreword I wrote for Mark Lutz' book "Programming Python" (2nd ed.), published by O'Reilly in 2001. Less than five years ago, I wrote the foreword for the 1st edition of Programming Python. Since then, the book has changed about as much as the language and the Python community! I no longer feel the need to defend Python: the statistics and developments listed in Mark's ...

  • Standard Exception Classes in Python 1.5

    Standard Exception Classes in Python 1.5 Standard Exception Classes in Python 1.5 (updated for Python 1.5.2 -baw) User-defined Python exceptions can be either strings or Python classes. Since classes have many nice properties when used as exceptions, it is desirable to migrate to a situation where classes are used exclusively. Prior to Python 1.5 alpha 4, Python's standard exceptions (IOError, TypeError, etc.) were defined as strings. Changing these to classes posed some particula...

  • Python Style Guide

    Python Style Guide Python Style Guide Author: Guido van Rossum The style guide originally at this URL has been turned into two PEPs (Python Enhancement Proposals): PEP 8 for the main text, and PEP 257 for docstring conventions.

  • Slideshow Collections for Instructional Use

    Slideshow Collections for Instructional Use We are collecting and making available slideshows for reading at your own pace and reuse in your presentations. The preferred format is reStructuredText/S5 since it can be easily edited without special software and converted into various delivery formats. Where possible, speaker notes are included to give the slides meaning without an audio overlay. Preparing for Screencasting Advice on how to get started giving screencasts, why you might want to...

  • Releases

    Releases Python releases are now listed on the downloads page. This page only provides links to older releases which are not listed in the release database. Python 1.6.1 (September 2000) Python 1.5.2 (April 1999) Older source releases (1.0.1 - 1.6) Ancient source releases (pre 1.0) Python 1.5 binaries Python 1.4 binaries Python 1.3 binaries Python 1.2 binaries Python 1.1 binaries

  • Python 1.5.2

    Python 1.5.2 Python 1.5.2 Do yourself a favor and get a more recent version! On 13 April 1999, the final version of Python 1.5.2 was released: Python 1.5.2 sources (2.5 MB) Python 1.5.2 installer for Windows (5.0 MB) What's new in 1.5.2? Documentation (both online and downloadable) Note: the Python installer for Windows includes the Tcl/Tk 8.0.5 installer. See the Tkinter resource guide for troubleshooting the Tcl/Tk installation. Windows users may also be interested in Mark Hammond's win...

  • What's new in Python 1.5 and beyond

    What's new in Python 1.5 and beyond If you download the source release, there's a loooong list of changes since release 1.4 in the file Misc/NEWS. Below are some highlights. (Or go directly to the listings of what's new in 1.5b1, what's new in 1.5b2, and what's new in 1.5 (final).) For an essay on the (difficult!) subject of metaprogramming, see my essay Metaprogramming in Python 1.5. See also the description of some major new features in version 1.5: Built-in Package Support and Stand...

  • Python 1.6

    Python 1.6 Python 1.6 Note: See the download pages for more recent releases. The final version of Python 1.6 is released on September 5, 2000. (What's new?) CNRI has placed an open source license on this version. CNRI believes that this version is compatible with the GPL, but there is a technicality concerning the choice of law provision, which Richard Stallman believes may make it incompatible. CNRI is still trying to work this out with Stallman. Future versions of Python ...

  • Python 1.6.1

    Python 1.6.1 Python 1.6.1 Note: See the download pages for more recent releases. What's new? Python 1.6 was the last of the versions developed at CNRI and the only version issued by CNRI with an open source license. Following the release of Python 1.6, and after Guido van Rossum left CNRI to work with commercial software developers, it became clear that the ability to use Python with software available under the GNU General Public License (GPL) was very desirable. CNRI and the Free Softwa...

  • Python 2.0.1 Release

    Python 2.0.1 Release Python 2.0.1 - a bugfix release for Python 2.0 Note: This is no longer the most current Python release. See the download page for more recent releases. We're releasing Python 2.0.1 - the final bugfix release for Python 2.0. Why would we come with a bugfix release now (June 2001), when Python 2.0 was released in October 2000 and Python 2.1 has been released for months (April 2001)? Two very good reasons! We've fixed the license: Python 2.0.1 is GPL-compatible. We took ...

  • FSF statement

    FSF statement <h1>FSF Statement</h1> <p>Eben Moglen, on behalf of the FSF, writes: <blockquote> The Free Software Foundation thanks the board of the Python Foundation and Guido van Rossum for their cooperation in developing a license for Python 2.0.1 that is fully compatible with the GNU General Public License (GPL). Python 2.0.1c1 and all future versions released under the same license are free software that may be freely combined with programs released under GPL. ...

  • Python 2.1 Press Release

    Python 2.1 Press Release <h4>NEWS RELEASE: For immediate release</h4> <center><h1>PythonLabs Releases Python 2.1</h1></center> <p>FALLS CHURCH VA (April 17, 2001) - PythonLabs and the Python Software Foundation today announced the final release of Python 2.1, a new version of the popular object-oriented programming language. Python 2.1 is the first release under the auspices of the Python Software Foundation (PSF). <p>"After months of work a...

  • Python 2.1

    Python 2.1 Python 2.1 - final release Note: This is no longer the most current Python release. See Python 2.1.3 for a patch release and the download page for more recent releases. The final version Python 2.1was released on April 17, 2001. See our (gulp :-) press release. What's New? What's New in Python 2.1 by Andrew Kuchling describes the most visible changes since Python 2.0. Full release notes with detailed lists of what was new in each alpha, beta or candidate ...

  • FSF response to the Python 2.1 license

    FSF response to the Python 2.1 license FSF response to the Python 2.1 license Today, I received the following email from Eben Moglen, the Free Software Foundation's attorney. (See also a postscript.) Subject: Re: Python 1.6.1 and GPL compatibility From: Eben Moglen <moglen@columbia.edu> To: Guido van Rossum <guido@digicool.com> Cc: "Bradley M. Kuhn" <bkuhn@gnu.org>, rms@gnu.org Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 07:44:11 -0400 (EDT) On Wednesday, 18 April 2001, Guido van Rossum w...

  • Python 2.1 Press Release

    Python 2.1 Press Release <h4>NEWS RELEASE: For immediate release</h4> <center><h1>PythonLabs Releases Python 2.1</h1></center> <p>FALLS CHURCH VA (April 17, 2001) - PythonLabs and the Python Software Foundation today announced the final release of Python 2.1, a new version of the popular object-oriented programming language. Python 2.1 is the first release under the auspices of the Python Software Foundation (PSF). <p>"After months of work a...

  • Python 2.1.1

    Python 2.1.1 Python 2.1.1 - a bugfix release for Python 2.1 Note: This is no longer the most current Python release. See Python 2.1.3 for a patch release and the download page for more recent releases. We're releasing Python 2.1.1 - a bugfix release for Python 2.1 (July 20, 2001). We've fixed the license: Like Python 2.0.1, Python 2.1.1 is GPL-compatible. We took the Python 2.1 license and applied the required change to section 7 that the FSF told us would suffice to make ...

  • FSF statement

    FSF statement <h1>FSF Statement</h1> <p>Eben Moglen, on behalf of the FSF, writes: <blockquote> The Free Software Foundation thanks the board of the Python Foundation and Guido van Rossum for their cooperation in developing a license for Python 2.0.1 that is fully compatible with the GNU General Public License (GPL). Python 2.0.1c1 and all future versions released under the same license are free software that may be freely combined with programs released under GPL. ...

Python language documentation

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