Python

• Python is a general purpose scripting language...
  • Designed as an interpreted language
  • It is designed to use libraries and packages
    • There is probably a package for whatever you are planning on working on
    • 
    • C intended the programmer to be aware if they were going to do something which was expensive.
    • A single line of code corresponds to a few lines of assembly code.
    • That is not the case with python.
    • A single line of code can correspond to thoulsands of lines of assembly code.
  • Python is
    • A prototyping language
    • The glue that holds many scientific computing projects together
    • A scripting language
    • An embedded language
    • The language for the small computing (one laptop per child, some Raspberry Pi releases, Dylan and his robot, ....)
  • Python is a dynamic typed language
    • Everything is python has a type.
    • Variables do not need to be declared.
    • But the types are only enforced when it is necessary
    • Sort of a "I don't care until I need to care" atitiude.
• I use python
  • To transform data. (My Geocaching pages)
  • To perform some grading tasks (in place of bash, but ...)
  • To build user interfaces and portable programs.
  • For quick problem solving.
• Versions
  • see this page for more information
  • Python 2.x is a historic version of python, but is still in use in many places.
    • Many linux distros still use this version for heavy lifting.
    • Many libraries are only available for this verions.
  • Python 3.x is the current version
    • It represents a more consistant version of the language
    • It is the version under development and the growing language
• Types in python.
  • The program types.py
• Names are bound to objects
  • Think identifier
  • Same legal scheme.
• You know python (with a reference)
• Take a look at sieve.py
• Take a look at counter.py