Python is a general-purpose programming language with easy to understand syntax. It is available across many platforms including Windows, Linux and macOS. Due to its inherently easy to learn nature along with object oriented features, Python is used to develop and demonstrate applications quickly. The programming language is currently being used in many different and diverse fields, such as These include software development, web development, desktop GUI development, educational and scientific applications, data and much more. One of the primary reasons why it's so popular is because of its simplicity (as you will see), though there are many other factors as well.
Dutch Guido van Rossum created the Python programming language at the end of the 1980s. Unlike other modern languages, such as C, C++, Java and C#, Python is aimed at constructing a simple but powerful syntax. The language was implemented in December 1989 in the Netherlands as a successor to ABC. As for the name of Python, Van Rossum named it after the British comedy troupe and BBC show Monty Python's Flying Circus. Python first released as version 1, however, version 2 (Python 2.0) rolled around in October of 2000, adding several more features. As of December 2024, the version of Python being used is version 3.13.
Just within these two paragraphs, we used to word 'syntax' a lot, but what does it mean? Syntax defines the way a line of code is written and interpreted by the computer. It's basically the grammar of programming; each programming language has its own syntax and rules of how things are written. Two other pre-Python topics you have to know before proceeding are indentation and comments. Though we won't be using it in the first 3 sections, we will definetely be using indentation from section 4 onwards and it basically refers to the placement of code horizontally relative to other pieces of code. Though this may not make sense now, you will definetely understand it in section 4. Other than that, comments are used all throughout the code on the website and are show using hashtags (#). These represent messages that the computer doesn't read but you as the user you do to gain a better understanding of what's been done in the code. All of this alone may sound like a lot, but trust me, you'll understand it a lot better with examples.