For the most part, Perl and Python users differ in their interpretation of these terms and how they are best implemented. Python is sometimes referred to as a "scripting language". In practice, it is used as a dynamic programming language for both application development and occasional scripting. Python has been used to develop many large software projects such as the Zope application server and the Mnet and BitTorrent file sharing systems. It is also extensively used by Google.

Another important goal of the Python developers is making Python fun to use. This is reflected in the origin of the name (after the television series Monty Python's Flying Circus), in the common practice of using Monty Python references in example code, and in an occasionally playful approach to tutorials and reference materials. For example, the metasyntactic variables often used in Python literature are spam and eggs, instead of the traditional foo and bar.

Another important goal of the language is ease of extensibility. New built-in modules are easily written in C or C++. Python can also be used as an extension language for existing modules and applications that need a programmable interface.

Though the design of Python is somewhat hostile to functional programming and the Lisp tradition, there are significant parallels between the philosophy of Python and that of minimalist Lisp-family languages such as Scheme. Many past Lisp programmers have found Python appealing for this reason.


Python was created in the early 1990s by Guido van Rossum at CWI in the Netherlands as a successor of the ABC programming language. van Rossum is Python's principal author, and his continuing central role in deciding the direction of Python is jokingly acknowledged by referring to him as its Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL).

The last version released from CWI was Python 1.2. In 1995, Guido continued his work on Python at the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) in Reston, Virginia where he released several versions of the software. Python 1.6 was the last of the versions released by CNRI.

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 GPL was very desirable. CNRI and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) interacted to develop enabling wording changes to the Python's free software license that would make it GPL-compatible. That year, Guido was awarded the FSF Award for the Advancement of Free Software.

Python 1.6.1 is essentially the same as Python 1.6, with a few minor bug fixes, and with the new GPL-compatible license.