Python is a high-level, interpreted programming language known for its readability and versatility. The history of Python spans several decades, beginning in the late 1980s, and it has undergone significant development and growth to become one of the most popular programming languages today.

Python was developed by Guido van Rossum in the late eighties and early nineties at the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands.

Python is derived from many other languages, including ABC, Modula-3, C, C++, Algol-68, SmallTalk, and Unix shell and other scripting languages.

Python is copyrighted. Like Perl, Python source code is now available under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

For many uninitiated people, the word Python is related to a species of snake. Rossum though attributes the choice of the name Python to a popular comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus on BBC.

Being the principal architect of Python, the developer community conferred upon him the title of Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL). However, in 2018, Rossum relinquished the title. Thereafter, the development and distribution of the reference implementation of Python is handled by a nonprofit organization Python Software Foundation.

Early Development and Creation

Late 1980s – Genesis

Python was conceived in the late 1980s by Guido van Rossum, a Dutch programmer working at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands. Van Rossum began working on Python as a successor to the ABC language, which was designed for teaching programming but lacked certain features that van Rossum found essential. He wanted to create a language that was powerful yet easy to read and use.

1989 – Inception

The actual development of Python started in December 1989. Guido van Rossum wanted to create a language that had the capabilities of the ABC language but with access to the Amoeba operating system and with a syntax that was as clear as ABC’s. He also wanted it to be extensible, allowing users to add new functions and data types as needed.

1991 – First Release

Python was officially released in February 1991 as Python 0.9.0. This initial release already included many features that would define the language, such as exception handling, functions, and the core data types (lists, strings, etc.). One of the notable features of Python from the beginning was its use of indentation to define code blocks, which promoted readability and clean code structure.

Python 1.x Series

1994 – Python 1.0

Python 1.0 was released in January 1994. This version included major new features such as:

• Functional programming tools like lambda, map, filter, and reduce.
• The module system, which allowed users to organize their code into reusable libraries.

Python 1.x Evolution

The 1.x series saw several incremental improvements and releases, such as:

• 1.2 (April 1995)
• 1.3 (October 1995)
• 1.4 (October 1996)
• 1.5 (December 1997)
• 1.6 (September 2000)

These versions introduced various improvements, including better support for complex numbers, Unicode support, and enhancements to the standard library.

Python 2.x Series

2000 – Python 2.0

Python 2.0 was released in October 2000. This version marked a significant step forward with new features such as:

• List comprehensions, which provided a more concise and readable way to create lists.
• A garbage collection system for memory management.
• The zip function for combining sequences.

Python 2.x series continued to evolve over the years, introducing many enhancements and new features. Some notable versions include:

• 2.1 (April 2001): Introduced nested scopes.
• 2.2 (December 2001): Introduced new-style classes, unifying types and classes.
• 2.3 (July 2003): Added the logging module and many performance improvements.
• 2.4 (November 2004): Introduced generator expressions and the subprocess module.
• 2.5 (September 2006): Added the with statement (context managers) and the ElementTree library for XML processing.
• 2.6 (October 2008): Included many features from Python 3.0 to aid in the transition.

2010 – Python 2.7

Python 2.7, released in July 2010, was the last major release of the Python 2.x series. It included many features from Python 3.x, such as:

• The argparse module for parsing command-line options.
• Dictionary comprehensions.
• Set literals.

Python 2.7 was supported until January 1, 2020, providing a long transition period for users to move to Python 3.

Python 3.x Series

2008 – Python 3.0

Python 3.0, also known as “Python 3000” and “Py3k,” was released in December 2008. This version was not backward-compatible with Python 2.x, aiming to fix fundamental design flaws in the language. Major changes included:

• Print statement replaced with a print() function.
• Integer division now produces a float (e.g., 5 / 2 == 2.5).
• Text strings are Unicode by default, and binary data is handled separately.
• The range function returns an iterator instead of a list.

Python 3.x Evolution

Python 3.x has continued to evolve with many new features, optimizations, and standard library improvements. Key releases include:

• 3.1 (June 2009): Introduced the ordered dictionary in the collections module and improvements to I/O speed.
• 3.2 (February 2011): Added the concurrent.futures module for concurrent programming.
• 3.3 (September 2012): Included a flexible string representation and the faulthandler module.
• 3.4 (March 2014): Introduced the asyncio module for asynchronous programming.
• 3.5 (September 2015): Added async and await syntax for asynchronous programming.
• 3.6 (December 2016): Included formatted string literals (f-strings) and underscore (_) in numeric literals for readability.
• 3.7 (June 2018): Introduced data classes and context variables.
• 3.8 (October 2019): Added the walrus operator (:=) for assignment expressions.
• 3.9 (October 2020): Included new syntax features like union operators in dicts.
• 3.10 (October 2021): Pattern matching with structural pattern matching.
• 3.11 (October 2022): Performance improvements and error messages.

2023 – Python 3.12

The latest version as of this writing, Python 3.12, continues to improve performance and add new features, maintaining Python’s status as a versatile and powerful language.

Conclusion

The history of Python is marked by steady growth and improvement, driven by a dedicated community and the vision of its creator, Guido van Rossum. From its inception in the late 1980s to the powerful and versatile language it is today, Python has become a staple in various domains, including web development, data science, machine learning, and more. As Python continues to evolve, it remains a popular choice for both beginners and experienced developers, promising a bright future in the world of programming.