# What is Python?


Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language created by [Guido van Rossum](https://gvanrossum.github.io/) and [first released](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)#History) on February 20, 1991. It supports multiple programming paradigms including procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming. Its syntax enforces readability through significant whitespace, and its standard library follows a ["batteries included" philosophy](https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/stdlib.html) that covers everything from file I/O to web servers.

Python spans web development, data science, machine learning, scientific computing, and automation. Major organizations including Google, Instagram, Spotify, and NASA use it heavily, and it has become a standard choice for teaching programming in universities.

## CPython

[CPython](https://github.com/python/cpython) is Python's reference implementation, written in C and Python. When people say "Python," they almost always mean CPython. It includes the interpreter that executes code and a [standard library](https://docs.python.org/3/library/) of built-in modules.

CPython uses a [Global Interpreter Lock (GIL)](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-is-the-gil.md) that allows only one thread to execute Python bytecode at a time, which simplifies the interpreter's memory management but limits thread-level parallelism. A [free-threaded build](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-is-pep-703.md) that removes the GIL shipped as officially supported in Python 3.14.

CPython follows an [annual release cycle](https://peps.python.org/pep-0602/) with a new minor version each October. Each version receives [two years of full support and three additional years of security-only fixes](https://devguide.python.org/versions/).

CPython itself gained an experimental [JIT compiler](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-is-cpythons-jit-compiler.md) in Python 3.13, using a copy-and-patch technique to translate hot bytecode paths into machine code at runtime. It is off by default and still experimental.

Alternative implementations exist. [PyPy](https://pypy.org/) offers a JIT-compiled interpreter and remains actively developed. [IronPython](https://ironpython.net/) targets .NET but lags behind CPython. [Jython](https://www.jython.org/) targeted the JVM but remains stuck on Python 2.7.

## The Ecosystem

Python is more than a language and interpreter. It is a federation of independent organizations and volunteer groups:

- The [Python Software Foundation](https://www.python.org/psf/) (PSF) is a non-profit that holds Python's intellectual property, funds infrastructure, and organizes [PyCon US](https://us.pycon.org/)
- The [Steering Council](https://peps.python.org/pep-0013/) is five core developers elected annually to make final technical decisions
- The [core developers](https://devguide.python.org/core-developers/) maintain CPython — roughly 100 people, most of them unpaid volunteers
- [PyPI](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-is-pypi.md) is the official package repository, hosted by the PSF
- The [PyPA](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/what-is-pypa.md) is a working group that maintains packaging tools like [pip](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/pip.md) and [setuptools](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/reference/setuptools.md)
- The [PEP process](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/pep.md) is how changes to the language and its standards are proposed and decided

These groups overlap in membership but operate independently. No single entity controls the whole stack. This decentralized structure explains a lot about [why Python's packaging ecosystem works the way it does](https://pydevtools.com/handbook/explanation/why-doesnt-python-just-fix-packaging.md).

## Community

Python's global community includes [local user groups](https://wiki.python.org/moin/LocalUserGroups), [Discourse forums](https://discuss.python.org/), conferences ([PyCon events](https://pycon.org/) on every continent except Antarctica), the [Python Discord](https://pythondiscord.com/), and [r/Python](https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/).