Just one week shy of Christmas 2008, the Python world saw the release of version 3 of Python. Big deal, eh? Well ... it turns out it was and is, as Python 3 is the first major release of Python designed from the get-go to be incompatible with prior versions of the language.

"The 3.0 version of Python (also known as Python3k and Python3000) just got released few hours ago. It's the first ever intentionally backwards-incompatible Python release."

It may seem like Python is just another scripting language, but know that when you are using Linux, the chances are there is some Python code working backstage helping you. Among other things, this article looks into the versatile nature of Python and its many uses…

Python 3000 (a.k.a. "Py3k", and released as Python 3.0) is a new version of the language that is incompatible with the 2.x line of releases. The language is mostly the same, but many details, especially how built-in objects like dictionaries and strings work, have changed considerably, and a lot of deprecated features have finally been removed.

With the latest major Python release, creator Guido van Rossum saw the opportunity to tidy up his famous scripting language. What is different about Python 3.0? In this article, I offer some highlights for Python programmers who are thinking about making the switch to 3.x.

"Python is an interpreted programming language created by Guido van Rossum in 1990. Python is fully dynamically typed and uses automatic memory management; it is thus similar to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, Smalltalk, and Tcl. Python is developed as an open source project, managed by the non-profit Python Software Foundation..."

Python 2.7, the last in the legacy Python 2.x dynamic language line, moved closer to general availability earlier this month when developers of the language put out a release candidate.

The first alpha release of Python 3.0 was made available for download on Friday. Python 3.0 includes syntactic and architectural changes that are incompatible with the 2.x series.

Python is a great programming language and one of the easiest to learn. That doesn't mean that it isn't capable of powerful stuff, however, because Python is known to handle almost every kind of programming task quite well. From basic scripting to enhanced graphical 3D programs: Python can do it all.