Python is a programming language that runs on most any platform. It is completely free and very easy to use. It is ideal for new programmers because it is so easy to learn, but advanced developers with decades of experience also love it because it makes short work out of complicated tasks.
Python Source Code for the Language Itself
Source code is available in a variety of ways. You can get the source for the Python language itself, because it is free and open source software (FOSS). You can modify the language itself and even contribute your ideas to the wider programming community.
To get the code for the language itself, visit the "download's section" of python.org. The language is available in a variety of implementations, including C, C#, Java and several others.
Python Source Code for Open Source Software
Because it is FOSS, many developers have been inspired to use Python in their own open source programming projects. Code is available for all of those projects, usually by visiting the website for the specific projects. Linux users can often it from their distribution's own software repository. An advantage of this approach is that you will automatically get the most stable version, and you'll generally receive updates whenever they become available.
Because it is compact and easy to work with, and because it is available by default on most Unix and Linux distributions, there is a very wide variety of open source applications written in Python for which code is available. Examples include:
- Miro
- Zope and Plone
- Roundup
- MoinMoin
- Ubuntu Software Center
And, it is the original implementation of BitTorrent. This means that you an extend or modify them, or develop your own extensions for them.
Python Source Code for Extensions
Python is used as a scripting language to create extensions for a variety of different products including Blender, Corel Paint Shop Pro, GIMP, Vim and many others. Code is often available for these extensions. The availability of the source means that you can learn how these extensions work and customize them or use the same techniques in developing your own extensions. You can use the language to automate those applications and perform a wide variety of tasks that they support.
Python Source Code Examples
Finally, there are a lot of cool examples that are available out there to illustrate many programming techniques. Sometimes, it is hard to figure out exactly how something is done, without having a specific code example to look at. Many sites or forums have a lot of examples for you to look at. The great thing about such examples is that they often give you a starting point to use, in tackling the parts of the job that you're most unsure about.
Erik Zoltan - Erik Zoltan has more than 20 years of computing experience working for large and small corporations such as ESI Technology, EDS, Inc. and ...
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