Outline of the Python programming language

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Python:

Python is a general-purpose, interpreted, object-oriented, multi-paradigm, and dynamically typed programming language known for its emphasis on code readability

and broad standard library. Python was created by Guido van Rossum and first released in 1991. It emphasizes code readability and developer productivity.

What type of language is Python?

Programming language — artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine.
Object-oriented programming — built primarily around objects and classes.
Functional programming — supports functions as first-class objects.
Scripting language — often used for automation and small programs.
General-purpose programming language — designed for a wide variety of application domains.
Dynamically typed — type checking occurs at runtime.
Interpreted language — code is executed by an interpreter.
Multi-paradigm — supports procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming.

History of Python

ABC (programming language) – precursor to Python
Python was started by Guido van Rossum in 1989 and first released in 1991.
Python 2 — major version released in 2000, officially retired in 2020.
Python 3 — released in 2008

General Python concepts

Classes
Comments and docstrings
Context manager
Data types
Decorators
Exceptions
Functions
Garbage collection
Generators
Indentation
Interpreter
Iterators
Literals
Modules and import statements
Objects
Operators in Python
Package management (pip)
Python standard library
Variables and strings

Issues and limitations

Performance — generally slower than many compiled languages such as C or Java can be mitigated by C extensions or JIT compilers (PyPy).
Global interpreter lock — limits parallel CPU-bound threads in CPython
Memory consumption — high memory use compared to some lower-level languages
Version compatibility — Python 2 vs Python 3 differences caused migration issues

Python implementations

CPython — reference implementation in C
IronPython — Python for .NET
Jython — Python for the JVM
MicroPython — Python for microcontrollers and embedded systems
Nuitka — compiler that packages user code with CPython into a static binary
PyPy — JIT-compiled Python interpreter for speed
PythonAnywhere — freemium hosted Python installation that runs in the browser
Stackless Python — Python with lightweight concurrency features

Python toolchain

List of Python software
Comparison of Python IDEs
Comparison of server-side web frameworks for Python
List of Python frameworks
List of Python libraries
List of unit testing frameworks for Python
Python Package Index

Notable projects using Python

YouTube (backend)
Instagram (backend)
Dropbox
Reddit
OpenStack
Blender (scripting and plugins)
SageMath
NumPy
Pandas
TensorFlow

Python development communities

ActiveState — commercial Python distributions and support
Anaconda, Inc. — Python data science ecosystem
GitHub
Python Software Foundation
Python Package Index (PyPI) — third-party software repository for Python

Example source code

Articles with example Python code

Python publications

Books about Python

Automate the Boring Stuff with Python – Creative Commons Python book
Alex Martelli — Python in a Nutshell and Python Cookbook
Mark Pilgrim – Dive into Python
Naomi Ceder — The Quick Python Book
Wes McKinney — Python for Data Analysis
Zed Shaw – Learn Python the Hard Way

Textbooks

Core Python Programming

Python programmers

Python conferences

EuroPython – annual Python conference in Europe
PyCon – the largest annual convention for the Python community
PyData – conference series focused on data analysis, machine learning, and scientific computing with Python
SciPy Conferences – focused on the use of Python in scientific computing and research
DjangoCon – a conference dedicated to the Django web framework
PyOhio – a free regional Python conference held in Ohio

Python learning resources

Codecademy –
– tutorials, coding examples, and interactive programming for Python concepts and data structures.
Kaggle – free Python courses focused on data science and machine learning.
– the official Python tutorial from the Python Software Foundation.
– articles, tutorials, and courses for Python developers.
W3Schools – beginner-friendly .
Wikibooks Python Programming – free open-content textbook on Python.

Competitive programming

Codeforces – an online platform for programming contests that supports Python submissions
Codewars – gamified coding challenges supporting Python
HackerRank – competitive programming and interview preparation site with Python challenges
Kaggle – while focused on data science competitions, it also includes Python-based problem solving.
LeetCode – online judge and problem-solving platform where Python is widely used