7 interesting facts about Python you should know

Python is undoubtedly one of the most in-demand programming languages all over the world. It has a less steep learning curve due to its simple syntax, making it the language of choice for newbies looking to learn a programming language. While Python is simple to learn, the language can be used for several applications. Perhaps, the most common today is in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Besides AI, however, Python can be used for game development, GUI development, software testing, cybersecurity, etc.

The super-popular language is used extensively in several organizations, both big and small. However, if you are a Python programmer, there are some interesting facts I bet you didn’t know about. In this article, you will learn about these facts and sound more intelligent when conversing with your friends. Let’s jump right into it, then. 

1) The nomenclature – Python came from a movie series

I’m sure you would have wondered how a programming language can be named Python (a snake). Interestingly, the name Python was given to the language based on a snake type. The founder, Guido Van Rossum, said that the nomenclature was influenced by one of his favorite series, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.” However, he decided to stick with Python because it is short, unique, and sounded mysterious. 

2) Python was a hobby initially.

Have you wondered how Python came about? Its founder Guido van Rossum was looking for ways to get busy during its Christmas holidays in 1989. He decided to work on a scripting language that would be a descendant of ABC and could be used by C hackers and Unix. In 1991, barely 2 years later, the project was a huge success.   and Russell called a python. 

3) The Zen of python

One of Python’s major contributors, Tim Peters created a poem that highlighted the major philosophies of the programming language. The poem can be found by typing the following statement, import this. 

This is something that may be taught in Python classes.

The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters

Beautiful is better than ugly.

Explicit is better than implicit.

Simple is better than complex.

Complex is better than complicated.

Flat is better than nested.

Sparse is better than dense.

Readability counts.

Special cases aren’t special enough to break the rules.

Although practicality beats purity.

Errors should never pass silently.

Unless explicitly silenced.

In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.

There should be one– and preferably only one –obvious way to do it.

Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you’re Dutch.

Now is better than never.

Although never is often better than *right* now.

If the implementation is hard to explain, it’s a bad idea.

If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.

Namespaces are one honking great idea — let’s do more of those!

 4) The variants of python

Python comes in different variants of flavors depending upon the language with which it was written. Some of the variants include 

• CPython: This is the standard implementation of Python in the C programming language.
• Jython: This version of Python was written in Java
• Brython: This version was made for Browsers and runs on browsers 
• RubyPython: This version was made between Ruby and Python
• Pypy: This is another version of Python written in RPython

5) Python is older than Java

Over the past few years, python has become extraordinarily popular. This makes people think that python is a new programming language. Java, on the other hand, has been known for decades and many people have the feeling that Java is one of the oldest programming languages.  However, Python is older than Java. This may come as shocking news, but Python was first released in 1991 while its Java counterpart was released in 1995. Thus, python is 30 years old as of today. 

6) Python is not as slow as people think. 

It is widely believed that python is a slow programming language. However, the language is not as good as people think. Come to think of it.  Many big companies such as NASA, Instagram, Google, Netflix, etc., make use of Python till date. If python were slow, as people think, why do these big companies keep on using the language?  Yes, Python is not as fast as Java or any other compiler, but it is fast enough to get the job done. This is why even with its seeming slowness, it is still widely popular and in demand. 

7) More people learned Python than French

French is one of the most popular spoken languages today. However, Python has a programming language that is fast overtaking French with respect to the people willing to learn. In a survey by the United Kingdom in 2015, six out of ten parents wanted their children to learn Python rather than learn French. In that survey, the programming language came out as a more popular language than French. 

Which of these facts did you not know before? Let us know in the comment section. In conclusion, Python is a popular language with relatively easy syntax. If you are looking to get into tech, you can learn Python online without much hassle. Begin by finding a solid python for beginners course and enroll in it.