57 lines
2.7 KiB
Plaintext
57 lines
2.7 KiB
Plaintext
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A. HISTORY OF THE SOFTWARE
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==========================
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Python was created in the early 1990s by Guido van Rossum at Stichting
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Mathematisch Centrum (CWI, see http://www.cwi.nl) in the Netherlands
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as a successor of a language called ABC. Guido remains Python's
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principal author, although it includes many contributions from others.
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In 1995, Guido continued his work on Python at the Corporation for
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National Research Initiatives (CNRI, see http://www.cnri.reston.va.us)
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in Reston, Virginia where he released several versions of the
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software.
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In May 2000, Guido and the Python core development team moved to
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BeOpen.com to form the BeOpen PythonLabs team. In October of the same
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year, the PythonLabs team moved to Digital Creations, which became
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Zope Corporation. In 2001, the Python Software Foundation (PSF, see
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https://www.python.org/psf/) was formed, a non-profit organization
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created specifically to own Python-related Intellectual Property.
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Zope Corporation was a sponsoring member of the PSF.
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All Python releases are Open Source (see http://www.opensource.org for
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the Open Source Definition). Historically, most, but not all, Python
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releases have also been GPL-compatible; the table below summarizes
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the various releases.
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Release Derived Year Owner GPL-
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from compatible? (1)
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0.9.0 thru 1.2 1991-1995 CWI yes
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1.3 thru 1.5.2 1.2 1995-1999 CNRI yes
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1.6 1.5.2 2000 CNRI no
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2.0 1.6 2000 BeOpen.com no
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1.6.1 1.6 2001 CNRI yes (2)
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2.1 2.0+1.6.1 2001 PSF no
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2.0.1 2.0+1.6.1 2001 PSF yes
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2.1.1 2.1+2.0.1 2001 PSF yes
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2.1.2 2.1.1 2002 PSF yes
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2.1.3 2.1.2 2002 PSF yes
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2.2 and above 2.1.1 2001-now PSF yes
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Footnotes:
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(1) GPL-compatible doesn't mean that we're distributing Python under
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the GPL. All Python licenses, unlike the GPL, let you distribute
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a modified version without making your changes open source. The
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GPL-compatible licenses make it possible to combine Python with
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other software that is released under the GPL; the others don't.
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(2) According to Richard Stallman, 1.6.1 is not GPL-compatible,
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because its license has a choice of law clause. According to
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CNRI, however, Stallman's lawyer has told CNRI's lawyer that 1.6.1
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is "not incompatible" with the GPL.
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Thanks to the many outside volunteers who have worked under Guido's
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direction to make these releases possible.
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