Python Concepts/Glossary

A

 * Array
 * Arrays are sequences similar to lists, except that the type (and size) of each element in the array is constrained. For example, see bytearray below.

B

 * BDFL
 * Stands for Benevolent Dictator For Life. Guido van Rossum is the BDFL of Python.


 * bytearray
 * An array in which each element is an int x that satisfies 0 <= x <= 0xFF. bytearrays have special significance because they can be written to disk in binary mode.

C

 * C
 * A popular programming language developed by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs in 1972.


 * CPython
 * The original Python implementation written in C.

G

 * Guido van Rossum
 * A Dutch computer programmer who's best known for creating the Python programming language.

H

 * IDLE
 * Stands for Integrated Development Environment. It comes bundled with a CPython installation by default.

J

 * Jython
 * A python implementation written in Java. Python code can be compiled to Java bytecode and it can easily interact with Java code and libraries.

K

 * Keyword Argument
 * An argument that doesn't follow a special, predefined order and is defined with a keyword.

P

 * Positional Argument
 * An argument that follows a special, predefined order that isn't defined with a keyword.


 * Pythonic
 * Something that follows the idioms of Python.

U

 * Unpythonic
 * Something that doesn't follow or goes against the idioms of Python.

Z

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