History of Python | Python Tutorials for Beginners #lec2

Summary

This video delves into the history of Python, a popular programming language created by Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum in 1989. Initially developed as a hobby, Python was inspired by the ABC language and modular concepts, emphasizing readability and simplicity. Named after the British comedy series 'Monty Python's Flying Circus,' Python has evolved through various versions, with the latest being 3.10, set to be succeeded by 3.11 in 2022. The language's open-source nature has fostered a community-driven development, continually enhancing its capabilities for diverse applications.

Takeaways

• 🐍 The creator of Python is Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum, who began working on the language in 1989 during his Christmas holidays.
• 🎨 Python was initially designed as a successor to the ABC programming language, incorporating and improving upon its features.
• 🎬 Guido van Rossum was inspired to name the language 'Python' after the British comedy series 'Monty Python's Flying Circus', which he enjoyed.
• 🛠️ Python's design was influenced by the ABC language and the exception handling concept from the Modula language, but not Java, as Python's conception predates Java's.
• 📅 The first version of Python, 0.9.0, was released in 1991, featuring classes, inheritance, exception handling, and basic data types.
• 🌐 Python was kept as an open-source project to encourage community contributions and improvements to the language.
• 📈 Python's development has seen numerous updates, with version 2.0 released in 2000 and subsequent versions up to 2.7 in 2010.
• 🚫 Support for Python 2.x was officially ended on January 1, 2020, with the focus shifting to Python 3.x versions.
• 🆕 The latest version of Python mentioned in the script is 3.10, released in 2021, with 3.11 expected to be released in October 2022.
• 💻 The script promises to guide viewers on how to install and set up Python for programming in future videos.
• 🔮 Guido van Rossum, the designer of Python, is still alive and resides in the Netherlands.

Q & A

What is the main topic of this video script?

The main topic of this video script is the history of the Python programming language.

What programming language features and applications were discussed in the previous video?

In the previous video, features of Python that contribute to its popularity and the various application areas where Python is used were discussed.

Who is credited with the creation of Python?

Python was created by a Dutch programmer named Guido van Rossum.

What was the project Guido van Rossum was working on when he started Python?

Guido van Rossum was working on a distributed operating system called Amoeba when he started Python.

What programming language did Guido van Rossum work on prior to Python?

Prior to Python, Guido van Rossum worked on the ABC programming language.

Why was Python named as such?

Python was named after the British TV series 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' because Guido van Rossum was a fan of the show.

What year did Guido van Rossum start working on Python?

Guido van Rossum started working on Python in 1989.

Is Python inspired by Java?

No, Python was designed before Java, and it is not inspired by Java. It was inspired by the ABC programming language and the exception handling concept from the Modula language.

When was the first official version of Python released?

The first official version of Python, version 1.0, was released in 1991.

What is the latest version of Python mentioned in the script?

The latest version of Python mentioned in the script is 3.10, released in 2021.

What was the year when support for Python 2.x was announced to end?

Support for Python 2.x was announced to end on January 1, 2020.

Outlines

00:00

🐍 The Origins of Python

This paragraph delves into the history of Python, starting with its creator, Guido van Rossum, a Dutch programmer. Van Rossum initiated the Python project in 1989 as a Christmas holiday hobby while working at CWI, the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands. He drew inspiration from his previous work on the ABC programming language and aimed to address its limitations. Python was designed to be a successor to ABC, incorporating its favorable aspects while introducing new features and improvements. The name 'Python' was chosen in homage to the British comedy series 'Monty Python's Flying Circus,' reflecting van Rossum's admiration for the show. The development of Python was rapid, with the first version released in 1991, and it has since evolved through numerous updates, with the latest being version 3.10 as of 2021.

05:02

📈 Python's Evolution and Future

The second paragraph outlines the evolution of Python from its initial release in 1991 to the present day. The first official version, 1.0, introduced features such as classes, inheritance, and exception handling, along with basic data types. Subsequent versions, up to 1.6, continued to refine and expand Python's capabilities. The significant leap to version 2.0 in 2000 marked further advancements, and the language continued to be updated through to version 2.7 in 2010. However, support for the 2.x series ended on January 1, 2020. The transition to Python 3 began with version 3.0 in 2008, and the language has seen regular updates, culminating in the release of version 3.10 in 2021. The upcoming version 3.11 is anticipated for release in October 2022, with 3.12 planned for 2023. The paragraph concludes with an invitation to the next video, where the focus will be on downloading and setting up Python for programming.

Keywords

💡Python

Python is a high-level, interpreted programming language known for its readability and efficiency. It was the central theme of the video, discussing its history, creation, and evolution. The script mentions Python's creator, Guido van Rossum, and how he started working on the language as a hobby during his Christmas holidays in 1989.

💡Guido van Rossum

Guido van Rossum is a Dutch programmer renowned as the designer of the Python programming language. The video script highlights his role in initiating the Python project and his previous experience with the ABC programming language, which influenced the design of Python.

💡ABC Programming Language

The ABC programming language is an earlier system that influenced Python's design. Guido van Rossum had worked on ABC, and the script notes that Python took some features from ABC while also addressing its limitations and adding new capabilities.

💡Distributed Operating System

The script mentions that Guido van Rossum was working on a distributed operating system called Amoeba when he started thinking about a new programming language. This context shows the practical applications that may have influenced the development of Python.

💡Monty Python's Flying Circus

The name 'Python' for the programming language was inspired by the British comedy series 'Monty Python's Flying Circus,' which Guido van Rossum enjoyed. This reflects the lighter, more approachable nature of the language, as indicated in the script.

💡Open Source

The script explains that Python was kept as an open-source project, allowing anyone to use and contribute to its development. This open-source model has been fundamental to Python's widespread adoption and continuous improvement.

💡Exception Handling

Exception handling is a programming concept that Python adopted, which allows for more robust and error-tolerant code. The script mentions that this concept was taken from the Modula-3 language and was incorporated into Python to enhance its functionality.

💡Version 1.0

The script discusses the release of Python's first official version, 1.0, which included features like lambda, map, reduce, and filter. This version marked a significant milestone in Python's development and adoption.

💡Version 2.0

Version 2.0 of Python, released in 2000, is highlighted in the script as a major update that continued to build on the language's capabilities. It was part of a series of updates that led up to the eventual release of Python 3.0.

💡Version 3.0

Python 3.0, introduced in 2008, is noted in the script as a significant version that brought about changes that were not backward compatible with Python 2.x. This version aimed to rectify issues and improve the language's design.

💡End of Support

The script mentions the end of support for Python 2.x, which was announced to occur on January 1, 2020. This is an important aspect of the Python ecosystem, as it encourages users to migrate to newer, supported versions of the language.

Highlights

The history of Python programming language is discussed in the video.

Python was created by Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum.

Guido started working on Python during his Christmas holidays in 1989.

Python was initially a hobby project while Guido was working on the Amoeba operating system.

Guido had prior experience with the ABC programming language.

Python is considered a successor to the ABC programming language.

Python was designed to fix flaws and add new features to ABC.

The name 'Python' was inspired by the British TV series 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'.

Python is not inspired by Java; its design concept predates Java.

Exception handling in Python was influenced by the Modula-3 language.

Python was first released as version 0.9.0 in 1991.

Python 1.0 was released with features like lambda, map, reduce, and filter.

Support for Python 2.x ended on January 1, 2020.

Python 3.0 was released in 2008, introducing significant changes.

The latest version of Python as of the video is 3.10, released in 2021.

Python 3.11 is expected to be released in October 2022.

Guido van Rossum is still alive and resides in the Netherlands.

The video series will continue with the installation and setup of Python.

Transcripts

so in the series of learning python

programming language in this video we'll

talk about history of python in previous

video we have talked about like some

features of python why it is so popular

and uh the application of python

application areas in which areas python

is being used these things we have

discussed in this video we'll talk about

the who is creator of python

why he invented this why he created this

when how where what is the motto behind

designing of this language and the words

and history of this language right all

these things we'll talk about in this

video so actually creator or you can say

a designer of python languages it's he's

a dutch programmer guido vandross

he started working on this project in

actually in 1989 during his christmas

holidays

right and at that time he was working in

cwi centrum viscandi and informatica

center at that time and on a project a

distributed operating system ameba at

that time he was working on that project

and

in his early 1980s he had worked on a

programming language abc abc programming

language so he was having some

experience

of working on a programming language or

designing of a programming language like

which factors for which you need to take

care while you design a new language

like some features and all these things

so he was having some experience of this

thing

right so he had worked on the abc

programming language and he was also

working in sea also you know during the

during his project of distributed

operating system distributed operating

operating system right

so he was having some experience about

this thing

and

so during you know in

his christmas holidays as a hobby

project he started working on this

project on you can say designing of a

new language

so he took some features from abc

programming language or you can say

python is a successor of abc programming

language you know he really liked some

features of abc programming language and

yeah there are some features i know he

didn't like those features right

but he took some features from that

language and fix all the flows which was

there in that language and added some

new features and

designed a new language

within three months he had worked on

this project with you know

for three months only and he designed a

new

language so you can say new scripting

language

named python and why he named this

language as python

because

at that time you know he was a fan of a

british tv series named monty python's

flying circus it was a comedy series

right comedy series type of thing so

that series is also known as monty

pythons so he was fan of that thing so

he took the name from

that

tv series python he wanted

a new name unique name you know out of

league name something different

something different so he took that name

python

but python is not inspired from java

many students think that like now object

oriented programming concept the hoop

concepts was taken from java no

actually the idea of designing of python

came up in 1989 and for java it was in

1995

right so it's way before

java it is taken from you can say he was

having some experience of c language

also then abc programming language as

well as exceptional handling concept was

not there in abc programming language

and abc a language was not extensible

you know they are not able to add new

features in that programming language

and during the working of

working on projects you know

he thought that he was you know facing

some issues and all

so

it was not a he was not able to extend

abc programming language new features

were not added that is why he you know

designed a new language and exceptional

handling concept was taken the idea of

this concept basically taken from

modular language

right

so you can say python is inspired from

abc as well as my modular language

so he took some features from abc one

feature from

modular language by exception handling

and designed a new scripting language

and after three months

he showed his work this kind of thing in

you know his office and they started

working even actually they started using

that scripting language

scripting language means

just you can write down a script or some

code to automate some task

manually you don't need to do that task

to automate some task of existing system

you can you know write down a script a

small script small code so they started

using it they started you know doing

improvement in that thing

so uh

in 1994

primary discussion forum was formed for

python

and it was an open source project

you know

godo decided to keep it as open source

so that anybody can use it and

contribute in this source code just

for its improvement right they can also

add some features and all to improve

that programming language

and finally in 19 in feb 1991 first

version was released that was known as

0.9.0

having some features of like classes

inheritance exceptional handling and

some primitive like data types list

dictionaries strings these things

but official version of this the first

version 1.0 was released in

1991.

in 1991 1.0 official version was

released with some extra features like

lambda map reduce filter and then after

that 1.1 1.2 like this still

1.6 updated version fixing of some flows

and all added of new features and all

then

version 2.0 was released in

2000 following by the versions 2.1

2.3

like this till 2.7 in 2010

but they have announced that on january

1st of january 2020

they have announced that

they are going to end the support for

this version 2.x version they are not

going to support this version anymore

right

so now recently version is three point x

version so basically first of all

version 3.0 came into picture in 2008

then 3.1 3.2 something like this

and the latest version is 3.10 which was

released in 2021

so we are going to work on this version

only the latest version 3.10. you will

download this thing python 3.10

right that will uh see next video how to

install and set up everything to you

know work on this language to write down

programs

and 3.11 will be released i guess in

this this year only 2022 in october and

next year future releases 3.12 in 2023

so this is all about a small history of

python that's all you need to take care

basically who is designer of this

language and we are in netherlands

he was he is sorry

he was not he is a dutch programmer he

is still alive okay

in netherlands he you know designed this

language so that is all about history of

python now in the next video we will in

download python that interpreter and as

well as the ide and we'll start using

those things so now in the next video

till then bye take care