UNIT 1
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY OF PYTHON
Python is a widely-used general-purpose, high-level programming language. It was initially
designed by Guido van Rossum in 1991 and developed by Python Software Foundation. It was
mainly developed for emphasis on code readability, and its syntax allows programmers to
express concepts in fewer lines of code.
In the late 1980s, history was about to be written. It was that time when working on Python
started. Soon after that, Guido Van Rossum began doing its application-based work in December
of 1989 at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) which is situated in the Netherlands. It was
started firstly as a hobby project because he was looking for an interesting project to keep him
occupied during Christmas.
The programming language in which Python is said to have succeeded is ABC Programming
Language, which had interfacing with the Amoeba Operating System and had the feature of
exception handling. He had already helped to create ABC earlier in his career and he had seen
some issues with ABC but liked most of the features. After that what he did was really very
clever. He had taken the syntax of ABC, and some of its good features.
It came with a lot of complaints too, so he fixed those issues completely and had created a good
scripting language that had removed all the flaws. The inspiration for the name came from
BBC’s TV Show – ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’, as he was a big fan of the TV show and
also, he wanted a short, unique and slightly mysterious name for his invention and hence he
named it Python! He was the “Benevolent dictator for life” (BDFL) until he stepped down from
the position as the leader on 12th July 2018. For quite some time he used to work for Google, but
currently, he is working at Dropbox.
1
,The language was finally released in 1991. When it was released, it used a lot fewer codes to
express the concepts, when we compare it with Java, C++ & C. Its design philosophy was quite
good too. Its main objective is to provide code readability and advanced developer productivity.
When it was released, it had more than enough capability to provide classes with inheritance,
several core data types exception handling and functions.
NEEDS OF PYTHON
Python is commonly used for developing websites and software, task automation, data analysis,
and data visualization. Since it’s relatively easy to learn, Python has been adopted by many non-
programmers such as accountants and scientists, for a variety of everyday tasks, like organizing
finances.
“Writing programs is a very creative and rewarding activity,” says University of Michigan and
Coursera instructor Charles R Severance in his book Python for Everybody.
“You can write programs for many reasons, ranging from making your living to solving a
difficult data analysis problem to having fun to helping someone else solve a problem.”
What can you do with python? Some things include:
Data analysis and machine learning
Web development
Automation or scripting
Software testing and prototyping
Everyday tasks
Data analysis and machine learning
Python has become a staple in data science, allowing data analysts and other professionals
to use the language to conduct complex statistical calculations, create data visualizations,
build machine learning algorithms, manipulate and analyze data, and complete other data-
related tasks.
2
,Python can build a wide range of different data visualizations, like line and bar graphs, pie
charts, histograms, and 3D plots. Python also has a number of libraries that enable coders
to write programs for data analysis and machine learning more quickly and efficiently, like
TensorFlow and Keras.
Web development
Python is often used to develop the back end of a website or application—the parts that a
user doesn’t see. Python’s role in web development can include sending data to and from
servers, processing data and communicating with databases, URL routing, and ensuring
security. Python offers several frameworks for web development. Commonly used ones
include Django and Flask. Some web development jobs that use Python include back end
engineers, full stack engineers, Python developers, software engineers, and DevOps
engineers.
Automation or scripting
If you find yourself performing a task repeatedly, you could work more efficiently by
automating it with Python. Writing code used to build these automated processes is called
scripting. In the coding world, automation can be used to check for errors across multiple
files, convert files, execute simple math, and remove duplicates in data.
Python can even be used by relative beginners to automate simple tasks on the
computer—such as renaming files, finding and downloading online content or sending
emails or texts at desired intervals.
Software testing and prototyping
In software development, Python can aid in tasks like build control, bug tracking, and testing.
With Python, software developers can automate testing for new products or features. Some
Python tools used for software testing include Green and Requestium.
3
, APPLICATIONS BASICS OF PYTHON PROGRAMMING USING THE REPL (SHELL)
Python is an interpreter language. It means it executes the code line by line. Python provides a
Python Shell, which is used to execute a single Python command and display the result. It is also
known as REPL (Read, Evaluate, Print, Loop), where it reads the command, evaluates the
command, prints the result, and loop it back to read the command again.
To run the Python Shell, open the command prompt or power shell on Windows and terminal
window on mac, write python and press enter.
A Python Prompt comprising of three greater-than symbols >>> appears, as shown below.
Now, you can enter a single statement and get the result. For example, enter a simple expression
like 3 + 2, press enter and it will display the result in the next line, as shown below.
4
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY OF PYTHON
Python is a widely-used general-purpose, high-level programming language. It was initially
designed by Guido van Rossum in 1991 and developed by Python Software Foundation. It was
mainly developed for emphasis on code readability, and its syntax allows programmers to
express concepts in fewer lines of code.
In the late 1980s, history was about to be written. It was that time when working on Python
started. Soon after that, Guido Van Rossum began doing its application-based work in December
of 1989 at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) which is situated in the Netherlands. It was
started firstly as a hobby project because he was looking for an interesting project to keep him
occupied during Christmas.
The programming language in which Python is said to have succeeded is ABC Programming
Language, which had interfacing with the Amoeba Operating System and had the feature of
exception handling. He had already helped to create ABC earlier in his career and he had seen
some issues with ABC but liked most of the features. After that what he did was really very
clever. He had taken the syntax of ABC, and some of its good features.
It came with a lot of complaints too, so he fixed those issues completely and had created a good
scripting language that had removed all the flaws. The inspiration for the name came from
BBC’s TV Show – ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’, as he was a big fan of the TV show and
also, he wanted a short, unique and slightly mysterious name for his invention and hence he
named it Python! He was the “Benevolent dictator for life” (BDFL) until he stepped down from
the position as the leader on 12th July 2018. For quite some time he used to work for Google, but
currently, he is working at Dropbox.
1
,The language was finally released in 1991. When it was released, it used a lot fewer codes to
express the concepts, when we compare it with Java, C++ & C. Its design philosophy was quite
good too. Its main objective is to provide code readability and advanced developer productivity.
When it was released, it had more than enough capability to provide classes with inheritance,
several core data types exception handling and functions.
NEEDS OF PYTHON
Python is commonly used for developing websites and software, task automation, data analysis,
and data visualization. Since it’s relatively easy to learn, Python has been adopted by many non-
programmers such as accountants and scientists, for a variety of everyday tasks, like organizing
finances.
“Writing programs is a very creative and rewarding activity,” says University of Michigan and
Coursera instructor Charles R Severance in his book Python for Everybody.
“You can write programs for many reasons, ranging from making your living to solving a
difficult data analysis problem to having fun to helping someone else solve a problem.”
What can you do with python? Some things include:
Data analysis and machine learning
Web development
Automation or scripting
Software testing and prototyping
Everyday tasks
Data analysis and machine learning
Python has become a staple in data science, allowing data analysts and other professionals
to use the language to conduct complex statistical calculations, create data visualizations,
build machine learning algorithms, manipulate and analyze data, and complete other data-
related tasks.
2
,Python can build a wide range of different data visualizations, like line and bar graphs, pie
charts, histograms, and 3D plots. Python also has a number of libraries that enable coders
to write programs for data analysis and machine learning more quickly and efficiently, like
TensorFlow and Keras.
Web development
Python is often used to develop the back end of a website or application—the parts that a
user doesn’t see. Python’s role in web development can include sending data to and from
servers, processing data and communicating with databases, URL routing, and ensuring
security. Python offers several frameworks for web development. Commonly used ones
include Django and Flask. Some web development jobs that use Python include back end
engineers, full stack engineers, Python developers, software engineers, and DevOps
engineers.
Automation or scripting
If you find yourself performing a task repeatedly, you could work more efficiently by
automating it with Python. Writing code used to build these automated processes is called
scripting. In the coding world, automation can be used to check for errors across multiple
files, convert files, execute simple math, and remove duplicates in data.
Python can even be used by relative beginners to automate simple tasks on the
computer—such as renaming files, finding and downloading online content or sending
emails or texts at desired intervals.
Software testing and prototyping
In software development, Python can aid in tasks like build control, bug tracking, and testing.
With Python, software developers can automate testing for new products or features. Some
Python tools used for software testing include Green and Requestium.
3
, APPLICATIONS BASICS OF PYTHON PROGRAMMING USING THE REPL (SHELL)
Python is an interpreter language. It means it executes the code line by line. Python provides a
Python Shell, which is used to execute a single Python command and display the result. It is also
known as REPL (Read, Evaluate, Print, Loop), where it reads the command, evaluates the
command, prints the result, and loop it back to read the command again.
To run the Python Shell, open the command prompt or power shell on Windows and terminal
window on mac, write python and press enter.
A Python Prompt comprising of three greater-than symbols >>> appears, as shown below.
Now, you can enter a single statement and get the result. For example, enter a simple expression
like 3 + 2, press enter and it will display the result in the next line, as shown below.
4
