The evolution of the Python language over the years

According to various websites, Python is one of the most popular coding languages ​​of 2015. In addition to being a high-level, general-purpose programming language, Python is also object-oriented and open source. At the same time, a good number of developers around the world have used Python to create GUI applications, websites, and mobile applications. The differentiating factor that Python brings to the table is that it allows programmers to develop concepts by writing less, readable code. Developers can further leverage various Python frameworks to mitigate the time and effort required to build large and complex software applications.

The programming language is currently being used by several high-traffic websites, including Google, Yahoo Groups, Yahoo Maps, Linux Weekly News, Shopzilla, and Web Therapy. Likewise, Python also finds great use in creating gaming, financial, scientific, and educational applications. However, developers still use different versions of the programming language. According to Python usage statistics and market share data published on W3techs, currently Python 2 is being used by 99.4% of websites while Python 3 is being used by only 0.6 % of websites. Therefore, it becomes essential for every programmer to understand the different versions of Python, and their evolution over many years.

How has Python evolved over the years?

Designed as a hobby programming project

Despite being one of the most popular coding languages ​​of 2015, Python was originally conceived by Guido van Rossum as a hobby project in December 1989. As Van Rossum’s office was closed for Christmas, he was looking for a hobby project. hobby to keep you busy during the holidays. He planned to create an interpreter for a new scripting language and called the project Python. Therefore, Python was originally designed as a successor to the ABC programming language. After writing the interpreter, Van Rossum made the code public in February 1991. Currently, however, the open source programming language is managed by the Python Software Foundation.

Python version 1

Python 1.0 was released in January 1994. The main release included a number of new features and functional programming tools, such as lambda, filter, map, and reduce. Version 1.4 was released with several new features, such as keyword arguments, built-in support for complex numbers, and a basic form of data hiding. The major release was followed by two minor releases, version 1.5 in December 1997 and version 1.6 in September 2000. But the initial versions created a solid foundation for the development of a powerful and futuristic programming language.

Python version 2

In October 2000, Python 2.0 was released with new list comprehension functionality and a garbage collection system. The syntax of the list comprehension function was inspired by other functional programming languages ​​such as Haskell. But Python 2.0, unlike Haskell, gave preference to alphabetic keywords over punctuation characters. In addition, the garbage collection system performed the collection of reference cycles. The major release was followed by several minor releases. These releases added a number of features to the programming language, such as support for nested scopes and the unification of Python classes and types into a single hierarchy. The Python Software Foundation has already announced that there will be no Python 2.8. However, the Foundation will support version 2.7 of the programming language until 2020.

Python version 3

Python 3.0 was released in December 2008. It came with several new features and improvements, along with a number of deprecated features. Deprecated features and backwards incompatibility make Python version 3 completely different from previous versions. Many developers still use Python 2.6 or 2.7 to take advantage of deprecated features in the latest major version. However, the new features of Python 3 made it more modern and popular. Many developers even switched to version 3.0 of the programming language to take advantage of these amazing features.

Python 3.0 replaced the print statement with the built-in print() function, while allowing programmers to use a custom separator between lines. It also simplified order comparison rules. If the operands are not arranged in a natural and meaningful order, the sort comparison operators can now throw a TypeError exception. Version 3 of the programming language also uses text and data instead of Unicode and 8-bit strings. Although it treats all code as Unicode by default, it renders binary data as Unicode encoded.

Because Python 3 is backwards-incompatible, programmers can’t access features like string exceptions, old-style classes, and implicit relative imports. Additionally, developers must be familiar with the changes made to the syntax and APIs. You can use a tool called “2to3” to migrate your application from Python 2 to 3 seamlessly. The tool highlights incompatibility and areas of concern through comments and warnings. Comments help developers make code changes and update their existing applications to the latest version of the programming language.

Latest versions of Python

Currently, developers can choose Python version 3.4.3 or 2.7.10. Python 2.7 allows developers to take advantage of improved numeric handling and enhancements to the standard library. The release makes it even easier for developers to migrate to Python 3. On the other hand, Python 3.4 comes with several new features and library modules, security enhancements, and improvements to the CPython implementation. However, a number of functions are deprecated in both the Python API and the programming language. Developers can still use Python 3.4 for long-term support.

Python version 4

Python 4.0 is expected to be available in 2023 after the release of Python 3.9. It will come with features that will help developers to switch from version 3 to 4 seamlessly. Additionally, as they gain experience, expert Python developers can take advantage of a number of backward-compatible features to modernize their existing applications without spending additional time and effort. However, developers still have to wait many years to get a clear picture of Python 4.0. However, they should monitor the latest versions to easily migrate to version 4.0 of the popular coding language.

Python version 2 and version 3 are completely different from each other. Therefore, each programmer must understand the features of these different versions and compare their functionality based on the specific needs of the project. Also, you need to check the version of Python that each framework supports. However, every developer should take advantage of the latest version of Python to take advantage of new features and long-term support.

Harri has an avid interest in Python and loves blogging cool stuff about technology. He recently wrote an interesting blog about Python at http://www.allaboutweb.biz/category/python/.