Python is a high-level, interpreted, dynamically-typed language created by Guido van Rossum, first released in 1991. It's known for readable, almost English-like syntax and a "batteries included" standard library, making it one of the most popular languages for beginners and professionals alike.
print("Hello, world!")
Unlike C or C++, Python code isn't compiled to machine code ahead of time — it's run by an interpreter (most commonly CPython, the reference implementation), which reads and executes the source directly. This makes Python slower for raw computation than compiled languages, but dramatically faster to write, test, and iterate on, which is why it dominates data science, machine learning, web backends (Django, Flask, FastAPI), scripting, and automation.
Python's version history matters more than many languages': Python 2 reached end-of-life in 2020 and should never be used for new code; Python 3 is the only actively maintained line, currently at Python 3.13 (released 2024) with 3.14 in development. This notebook targets modern Python (3.10+) throughout, since features like the match statement and modern type-hint syntax genuinely change how idiomatic Python code looks.