The Python Wiki

Welcome to the Python Wiki, a user-editable compendium of knowledge based around the Python programming language. Some pages are protected against casual editing - see WikiEditingGuidelines for more information about editing content.

Python is a great object-oriented, interpreted, and interactive programming language. It is often compared (favorably of course ) to Lisp, Tcl, Perl, Ruby, C#, Visual Basic, Visual Fox Pro, Scheme or Java... and it's much more fun.

Python combines remarkable power with very clear syntax. It has modules, classes, exceptions, very high level dynamic data types, and dynamic typing. There are interfaces to many system calls and libraries, as well as to various windowing systems. New built-in modules are easily written in C or C++ (or other languages, depending on the chosen implementation). Python is also usable as an extension language for applications written in other languages that need easy-to-use scripting or automation interfaces.

Using and Editing the Wiki

Getting Started


Beginners Guide	Documentation
Links to tutorials, courses and resources	Learning materials, topic guides and links to central resources
Beginner Errors	Python Books
Some common pitfalls of beginners	Books about Python plus reviews
Asking for Help	Python Audio Materials
Questions asked by beginners, answered here	A mixture of introductory and topical material
Languages	Python Implementations
Resources written in languages other than English	Different software which runs programs in the Python language
See also the documentation category for all known documentation-related pages.

Events, Courses, Conferences, Community

Python Conferences - information about the Python conference scene
Local User Groups - find a Python group near you
Python Training - Python training courses
Python Events - event listing for conferences, training courses and more
Python Event Calendars - calendars for Python conferences and user groups
Participating in the Community - where people using and producing Python get together
Python Software Foundation - show your support by joining the Foundation behind Python
Find a job where you can use Python - Python job boards around the world

Python Software


Python Projects	Development Tools
Information on finding software projects written in Python, including...	Managing your code more effectively
Applications	Python Editors
Ready-to-run applications which use Python	Editing your code more effectively
Useful Modules	Publishing Python Modules
Some building blocks for your own projects (including frameworks for database, GUI, Web programming)	How to make others aware of your own works

Python Core Development Tools


The Python Web Site	Bug Tracker
Maintaining the official Python online resources	Roundup and the code review services used by the Python project
Package Index	Other Resources
The infrastructure behind Python package hosting	A list of all development process-related resources on this Wiki

Using this Wiki

This Wiki is a community place to gather and organize all things about Python. Feel free to exercise your editorial skills and expertise to make it a useful knowledge base and up-to-date reference on all Python-related topics.

There are some guidelines describing the policies and rules governing this Wiki and how you can most effectively contribute to it. A list of site improvements describes various tasks where your help would be appreciated. To keep up with changes on this site, check RecentChanges frequently or follow it using RSS: RSS feed.

Creating a Wiki account

In order to sign up for a wiki account, please go to the Create new account form, enter your account name (using the format FirstnameLastname to avoid issues - please don't use spaces in the name) and provide a password, plus email address (for password recovery).

Editing pages

Since spamming and vandalism on this wiki had reached a level that required constant intervention, unfamiliar users are no longer allowed to edit pages. However all you need to do is introduce yourself to the wiki admin group to become an editor.

If you want to edit a page and have just signed up, or find that you can no longer edit a page that you could edit before, please write to the pydotorg-www mailing list describing what you would like to edit, and we'll add you to the EditorsGroup. Please include your account name (wiki name) in this message.

Sorry for any inconvenience, but we want to keep this wiki a useful tool for the community, while at the same time preventing the wiki admins from burning out cleaning up junk.

Reporting problems

In case of emergency, please contact the python.org maintainers, or if experiencing difficulties, contact the pydotorg-www mailing list to say "help".

Wiki Attack in January 2013

The wiki was subject to an attack on January 5 2013. Since it was not clear whether user account data was stolen, all passwords were subsequently reset, so you will have to use the password recovery function to get a new password.

See the wiki attack description page for more details. If you find problems, please report them to the pydotorg-www mailing list <pydotorg-www@python.org>.

HTTPS access to the Wiki

We have enabled HTTPS access to the wiki to further enhance security and avoid having to send clear text passwords over the network in order to log in to the wikis.

If you have not been using HTTPS links to the wiki login page, please be advised that your password may have been sniffed on the network at e.g. a conference. It is best to change it and stop using HTTP links to the wiki login page.