Python (programming language)
general-purpose programming language
Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language that emphasizes code readability, simplicity, and ease-of-writing with the use of significant indentation, an extensive ("batteries-included") standard library, and garbage collection. Python supports multiple programming paradigms but with an emphasis on object-oriented programming and dynamic typing.
Guido van Rossum began working on Python in the late 1980s as a successor to the ABC programming language. Python 3.0, released in 2008, was a major revision and not completely backward-compatible with earlier versions. Beginning with Python 3.5, capabilities and keywords for typing were added to the language, allowing optional static typing. As of 2026, the Python Software Foundation supports Python 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13, and 3.14, following the project's annual release cycle and five-year support policy. Python 3.15.0rc1 (which defaults to UTF-8) is out in preview, and the stable release is expected to launch in October 2026. Earlier versions in the 3.x series have reached end-of-life and no longer receive security updates.
Python is widely taught as an introductory programming language.
History
Python was conceived in the late 1980s by Guido van Rossum at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands.
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This entry incorporates text from “Python (programming language)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.