1.0 The history of python.
Python is an open source language that is getting a lot of attention from the market1. It was born in an educational environment in the Christmas of 1989. Guido van Rossum, was a researcher at CWI in Amsterdam, Netherlands. CWI is a research institute in Amsterdam and the acronym CWI if translated to English, it will mean center for mathematics and computer science. According to (Lessa A, 2000), python was just a project to keep Guido van Rossum busy during the holidays, but later on it became part of the Amoeba Project at CWI. And its first release for public was in February 1991.
Guido van Rossum wrote in explanation of why python has been created:
I had extensive experience with implementing an interpreted language in the ABC group at CWI, and from working with this group I had learned a lot about language design. This is the origin of many Python features, including the use of indentation for statement grouping and the inclusion of very-high-level data types (although the details are all different in Python).
I had a number of gripes about the ABC language, but also liked many of its features. It was impossible to extend the ABC language (or its implementation) to remedy my complaints – in fact its lack of extensibility was one of its biggest problems. I had some experience with using Modula-2+ and talked with the designers of Modula-3 and read the Modula-3 report. Modula-3 is the origin of the syntax and semantics used for exceptions, and some other Python features.
I was working in the Amoeba distributed operating system group at CWI. We needed a better way to do system administration than by writing either C programs or Bourne shell scripts, since Amoeba had its own system call interface which wasn’t easily accessible from the Bourne shell. My experience with error handling in Amoeba made me acutely aware of the importance of exceptions as a programming language feature.
It occurred to me that a scripting language with a syntax like ABC but with access to the Amoeba system calls would fill the need. I realized that it would be foolish to write an Amoeba-specific language, so I decided that I needed a language that was generally extensible.
During the 1989 Christmas holidays, I had a lot of time on my hand, so I decided to give it a try. During the next year, while still mostly working on it in my own time, Python was used in the Amoeba project with increasing success, and the feedback from colleagues made me add many early improvements.
In February 1991, after just over a year of development, I decided to post to USENET. The rest is in the Misc/HISTORY file.
Amazingly, python wasn't named after the famous snake. according to the official website of python. The name came after a comedy series called "Monty Python’s Flying Circus" from BBC in 197s.That Guido van Rossum was reading it's public scripts upon publishing. Van Rossum, wanted a mysteriously special name, so he decided to call it Python. Today, python has an a non profit organization called Python Software Foundation(PSF) that take ownership of the python development.
1 Python developers handbook by Andres Dos Santos Lessa
Python is an open source language that is getting a lot of attention from the market1. It was born in an educational environment in the Christmas of 1989. Guido van Rossum, was a researcher at CWI in Amsterdam, Netherlands. CWI is a research institute in Amsterdam and the acronym CWI if translated to English, it will mean center for mathematics and computer science. According to (Lessa A, 2000), python was just a project to keep Guido van Rossum busy during the holidays, but later on it became part of the Amoeba Project at CWI. And its first release for public was in February 1991.
Guido van Rossum wrote in explanation of why python has been created:
I had extensive experience with implementing an interpreted language in the ABC group at CWI, and from working with this group I had learned a lot about language design. This is the origin of many Python features, including the use of indentation for statement grouping and the inclusion of very-high-level data types (although the details are all different in Python).
I had a number of gripes about the ABC language, but also liked many of its features. It was impossible to extend the ABC language (or its implementation) to remedy my complaints – in fact its lack of extensibility was one of its biggest problems. I had some experience with using Modula-2+ and talked with the designers of Modula-3 and read the Modula-3 report. Modula-3 is the origin of the syntax and semantics used for exceptions, and some other Python features.
I was working in the Amoeba distributed operating system group at CWI. We needed a better way to do system administration than by writing either C programs or Bourne shell scripts, since Amoeba had its own system call interface which wasn’t easily accessible from the Bourne shell. My experience with error handling in Amoeba made me acutely aware of the importance of exceptions as a programming language feature.
It occurred to me that a scripting language with a syntax like ABC but with access to the Amoeba system calls would fill the need. I realized that it would be foolish to write an Amoeba-specific language, so I decided that I needed a language that was generally extensible.
During the 1989 Christmas holidays, I had a lot of time on my hand, so I decided to give it a try. During the next year, while still mostly working on it in my own time, Python was used in the Amoeba project with increasing success, and the feedback from colleagues made me add many early improvements.
In February 1991, after just over a year of development, I decided to post to USENET. The rest is in the Misc/HISTORY file.
Amazingly, python wasn't named after the famous snake. according to the official website of python. The name came after a comedy series called "Monty Python’s Flying Circus" from BBC in 197s.That Guido van Rossum was reading it's public scripts upon publishing. Van Rossum, wanted a mysteriously special name, so he decided to call it Python. Today, python has an a non profit organization called Python Software Foundation(PSF) that take ownership of the python development.
1 Python developers handbook by Andres Dos Santos Lessa