the preface of <Lovely Python>

Dear Reader,

Congratulations on picking up a book on programming!

Programming is the ultimate puzzle, and studying it will keep your mind fresh forever. That is certainly how it has worked for me: I have always had fun programming, and eventually this led me to create my own programming language, so that I could have even more fun. Python is one of the most fun programming languages around. It is incredibly flexible, and is very easy to learn -- this book teaches you how to write Python programs, even if you have never learned another programming language. In fact, Python is one of the easiest programming languages to learn, and definitely the most fun.

Python is not just for beginners: professional programmers all over the world are having fun using Python in their work. For example, at Google (where I work) about 15% of all programs are written in Python. Programmers everywhere are having fun using Python for websites, games, databases, virtual reality, and so on.

Of course I want everyone to have as much fun programming as I do, and that is why I have made Python free software. Python's source code can be downloaded for free by everyone in the world, and that's not all: you can also pass it around to others. This is the true open source spirit of free software: share your creations with everyone. I hope you will use Python to create something wonderful, and share it with the world.

Even if you're not quite that ambitious, I assure you that you will have fun using Python and other free software like it.

--Guido van Rossum

creator of Python & mentor of ZEUUX