Python (programming language)

Python
Python
Paradigm	Multi-paradigm: object-oriented, procedural (imperative), functional, structured, reflective
Designed by	Guido van Rossum
Developer	Python Software Foundation
First appeared	20 February 1991
Stable release	3.14.7 / 5 August 2026
Typing discipline	Duck, dynamic, strong; optional type annotations
Memory management	Garbage-collected
OS	Cross-platform
License	Python Software Foundation License
Filename extensions	.py, .pyc, .pyd, .pyi, .pyw, .pyz
Website	python.org
Major implementations
	CPython, PyPy, MicroPython, CircuitPython, IronPython, Jython, Stackless Python
Dialects
	Cython, RPython, Starlark
Influenced by
	ABC, Ada, ALGOL 68, APL, C, C++, CLU, Dylan, Haskell, Icon, Lisp, Modula-3, Perl, Standard ML
Influenced
	Apache Groovy, Boo, Cobra, CoffeeScript, D, F#, GDScript, Go, JavaScript, Julia, Mojo, Nim, Ruby, Swift, V
	Python Programming at Wikibooks;

Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language that emphasizes code readability, simplicity, and ease-of-writing with the use of significant indentation, an extensive ("batteries-included") standard library, and garbage collection. Python supports multiple programming paradigms but with an emphasis on object-oriented programming and dynamic typing.

Guido van Rossum began working on Python in the late 1980s as a successor to the ABC programming language. Python 3.0, released in 2008, was a major revision and not completely backward-compatible with earlier versions. Beginning with Python 3.5, capabilities and keywords for typing were added to the language, allowing optional static typing. As of 2026, the Python Software Foundation supports Python 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13, and 3.14, following the project's annual release cycle and five-year support policy. Python 3.15.0rc1 (which defaults to UTF-8) is out in preview, and the stable release is expected to launch in October 2026. Earlier versions in the 3.x series have reached end-of-life and no longer receive security updates.

Python is widely taught as an introductory programming language.