Guido van Rossum: The TRUE History Behind The Python Programming Language
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the history of Python, from its inception during a 1989 Christmas holiday by Guido van Rossum to its current status as a leading programming language. Initially designed to improve upon ABC, Python offered increased readability and efficiency over C. Its open-source journey began with a split source code release on Usenet, evolving through versions to include features like exception handling and Unicode support. Python's rise in popularity is attributed to its simplicity, extensive libraries, and applicability in fields like big data and machine learning. Today, Python competes with top languages and has a dedicated community known as 'pythonistas'.
Takeaways
- 🌟 Python's popularity is highlighted by its frequent mentions in Google searches, surpassing even celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump.
- 🎄 Python was initially developed by Guido van Rossum during the Christmas holidays in 1989 as a project to create a new programming language.
- 🐍 The name 'Python' was inspired by the British comedy group Monty Python and was chosen for its edgy, mysterious, and one-breath pronunciation.
- 🔍 Python was designed to be more readable and programmer-friendly compared to C, aiming to offer a shorter development time and better appeal to Unix and C hackers.
- 📚 Python's early versions, starting from 0.9.0, included features like exception handling, functions, modules, classes, and core data types like list, dict, and str.
- 🌐 Python's open-source nature was a strategic decision in the 90s, which involved breaking the source code into 21 parts to share on Usenet.
- 📈 Python 1.0 introduced functional programming tools, keyword arguments, and support for complex numbers, marking a significant step in its evolution.
- 🏆 The National Institute for Standards and Technology's adoption of Python for standards-related projects in 1994 helped to further popularize the language.
- 🚀 Python 2.0, released in 2000, featured Unicode support, a full garbage collector, and list comprehensions, enhancing its capabilities.
- 🔄 The transition to Python 3.0 was challenging due to compatibility issues with third-party libraries, but it was necessary for the language's long-term health.
- 🌐 Python's current success is attributed to its adaptability in big data and machine learning, as well as its simplicity, which attracts new developers.
Q & A
What is the most exciting fact mentioned about Python's popularity?
-Python was searched more times on Google than Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump.
When was Python initially developed?
-Python was initially developed during a Christmas holiday in 1989.
Who is the creator of Python?
-Guido van Rossum is the creator of Python.
What was the original purpose of Python's development?
-Python was developed to be a language that was more readable, programmable, and faster to use than C, and to appeal to hackers in Unix and C languages.
Why was Python named as such?
-The name Python was taken from the BBC TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus, as van Rossum was a fan and wanted a name that sounded edgy, mysterious, and could be spoken in one breath.
What was the dilemma Guido van Rossum faced regarding Python's distribution?
-Guido van Rossum faced the dilemma of deciding whether to make Python open source or not, as the business model for language developers at the time was inconclusive.
What was the first version of Python released, and what features did it include?
-The first version of Python released was 0.9.0, which included features like exception handling, functions, modules, classes, and core data types like list, dict, and str.
What significant event happened in 1994 for Python?
-In 1994, Python 1.0 was released, and the National Institute for Standards and Technology selected Python for use in standards-related projects.
What is the 'Zen of Python' and when was it introduced?
-The 'Zen of Python' is a set of 20 aphorisms that guide Python's design philosophy. It was introduced when Python 2.0 was released in 2000.
What was the major challenge with the release of Python 3.0?
-The major challenge with the release of Python 3.0 was that it was not fully backward compatible, causing issues for users relying on third-party libraries that were slower to upgrade.
What is the latest version of Python mentioned in the script, and what is one of its improvements?
-The latest version of Python mentioned in the script is 3.11.0, which is up to 60% faster than the older 3.10 version.
What factors have contributed to Python's surge in popularity?
-Python's surge in popularity has been attributed to the development of interest in big data and machine learning, as well as its simplicity and straightforwardness for new developers.
Outlines
🐍 The Rise of Python: A Programming Language History
The paragraph delves into the popularity of Python, highlighting its frequent mentions in Google searches compared to celebrities. It traces the language's origins back to a 1989 Christmas project by Guido van Rossum, who aimed to create a language that improved upon the readability and programming efficiency of C. Python was designed to be hacker-friendly, drawing inspiration from Unix and C. The name 'Python' was inspired by the British comedy show 'Monty Python's Flying Circus,' reflecting van Rossum's desire for a name that was edgy and could be spoken in one breath. The language's simplicity and design strategy have been shaped by a long history, leading to its current status as an easy-to-learn option. The paragraph also discusses Python's early development stages, its open-source dilemma, and the features introduced in its initial versions, such as exception handling and modules. The influence of the ABC language and the support from the National Institute for Standards and Technology are also mentioned, along with the role of Guido van Rossum in popularizing Python through conferences and workshops.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Python
💡Guido van Rossum
💡Open Source
💡Monty Python's Flying Circus
💡Zen of Python
💡Functional Programming
💡Unicode
💡Garbage Collector
💡Python 3.0
💡Pythonistas
💡Big Data
Highlights
Python's popularity is attributed to being searched more times on Google than Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump.
Python was largely developed by Guido van Rossum during a Christmas holiday in 1989.
Python was designed to be more readable and less time-consuming than C, appealing to Unix and C hackers.
The name 'Python' was inspired by the BBC TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Python's design philosophy emphasizes simplicity and ease of learning.
Python's initial release faced the dilemma of whether to go open source.
Python's source code was initially broken into 21 parts to be shared on Usenet.
Python 1.0 introduced features like exception handling, functions, modules, and classes.
Python's growth was supported by the National Institute for Standards and Technology.
Guido van Rossum became known as the Benevolent Dictator For Life (BDFL) in 1995.
Python 2.0 added Unicode support and a full garbage collector.
Python 3.0 was a significant update that caused compatibility issues with older versions.
Python's update to version 3.0 was aimed at improving the language despite the transition challenges.
Python's recent update, version 3.11.0, is up to 60% faster than its predecessor.
Python competes with top programming languages like Java and JavaScript.
Python's popularity surge is linked to the rise of big data and machine learning.
Python has a vast ecosystem of libraries, frameworks, and a community known as 'Pythonistas'.
Transcripts
python is popular for multiple reasons
the most exciting of which is the fact
that it was Google search more times
than Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump so
what is the story of this language that
shows up so often in conversations about
programming in today's video we're going
to discuss the history of python right
from its developmental stages till its
present day maturity let's get into it
what we know as python today was pretty
much the product of a Christmas holiday
project in 1989 a man named Guido van
Rossum had found himself with nothing to
do when his office had closed for the
holidays at the time he had been working
on designing system utilities for amoeba
microkernel based distributed system
figuring then was a nice time he started
developing a language that would take
the best parts of the sea and improve
the less electable qualities python was
the solution that could offer more
readability was more programmable and
take a shorter time to use than C it was
also intended to appeal to hackers in
Unix and C languages python is very much
the opposite of the huge Meandering
reptile he would be best advised to turn
the other way from the name python was
taken from the BBC TV show Monty
Python's Flying Circus of which van
Rossum happened to be a fan he also
wanted something that sounded edgy
mysterious and could be spoken in one
breath Python's current status as an
easy to learn language derived from a
long history of Simplicity and design
strategy when presented at Centrum
whiskan Informatica his workplace it
found a welcoming reception van Rossum
faced The Dilemma of deciding whether to
make it open source or otherwise because
the business model followed by language
developers at the time was still
inconclusive the reason for that was
this was that even proprietary languages
had difficulties going mainstream unlike
how you could easily publish your code
and make it accessible on GitHub today
it wasn't so seamless in the 90s the
source code for Python's interpreter had
to be broken into 21 uncoded before it
could be shared on Usenet the first
python iteration 0.9.0 was loaded with
features like exception handling
functions modules and classes there were
also core data types like list stick and
Str this opening model had inherited an
appreciable number of features from its
ancestor the ABC by January 1994 when
its next version python 1.0 was released
it had earned itself a separate channel
on the Usenet platform its Central
qualities were functional programming
tools keyword arguments and support for
complex numbers that same year the
National Institute for standards and
Technology selected python for use in
standards related projects to use it
effectively they needed someone who was
worse in the language and no better
option presented itself than the Creator
with the Institute now behind him Van
Wilson was able to popularize python by
attending conferences and organizing
Workshops the exposure attracted people
who would become some of its early and
most important contributors in little
time van Rossum got another offer from
the corporation for National research
initiatives cnri a non-profit
organization the position allowed him to
create a team of interest to developers
and smoothen the release of newer
versions python 1.3 through 1.6 were
under this partnership the language also
got its own official website and mailing
list by the time python 2.0 was released
in 2000 the language was shaping up
nicely it had own collection of
principles listed in the Zen of python
this is a body of 20 rules some of which
are beautiful is better than ugly simple
is better than complex and a pretty
popular one there should be one and
preferably one obvious way to do it some
major highlights of its pre-21st Century
Evolution was the adoption of python in
the Microsoft Merchant server and the
conferment of the title of benevolent
dictator for life or bdfl on Guido van
Rossum in 1995. Python 2.0 when it came
on board in October 2000 had fresh
features like Unicode support and a full
garbage collector it also had list
comprehension which was being used in
functional programming languages even
then the central developers were
considering a new version that would
decongest the material acquired by
python in its years of upgrades and
iteration the result was this python 3.0
which brought with a host of problems
the primary one was that the language
had become so popular the update
affected users who were relying on
third-party libraries it was easy to
transfer scripts to the new version but
it became less so so trying to move
libraries that were slower to upgrade
but while it was an awkward transition
the decision improved the language as a
2022 Python's newest update is the
version 3.11.0 which is up to 60 faster
than the older 3.10 python now competes
with top programming languages like Java
and JavaScript its rapid surge in
popularity has been attributed to the
development of interest in big data and
machine learning besides that there are
tons of new developers who increasingly
search for simple and straightforward
ways to break into the world of
programming python possesses thousands
of libraries Frameworks multi-purpose
functionalities and a dedicated
community of fans known as pythonistas
when you combine all of these you
realize why the language is such a
frontliner in the programming world and
that's it for today's video what
language do you think might overtake
python in the coming years leave your
thoughts in the comments section and if
you enjoyed this video don't forget to
like And subscribe see you in the next
one
foreign
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