Python was created in the early 1990s by Guido van Rossum at Stichting
Mathematisch Centrum (CWI, see http://www.cwi.nl/) in the Netherlands
as a successor of a language called ABC. Guido remains Python's
principal author, although it includes many contributions from others.
In 1995, Guido continued his work on Python at the Corporation for
National Research Initiatives (CNRI, see http://www.cnri.reston.va.us/)
in Reston, Virginia where he released several versions of the
software.
In May 2000, Guido and the Python core development team moved to
BeOpen.com to form the BeOpen PythonLabs team. In October of the same
year, the PythonLabs team moved to Digital Creations (now Zope
Corporation; see http://www.zope.com/). In 2001, the Python
Software Foundation (PSF, see http://www.python.org/psf/) was
formed, a non-profit organization created specifically to own
Python-related Intellectual Property. Zope Corporation is a
sponsoring member of the PSF.
All Python releases are Open Source (see
http://www.opensource.org/ for the Open Source Definition).
Historically, most, but not all, Python releases have also been
GPL-compatible; the table below summarizes the various releases.
Release
Derived from
Year
Owner
GPL compatible?
0.9.0 thru 1.2
n/a
1991-1995
CWI
yes
1.3 thru 1.5.2
1.2
1995-1999
CNRI
yes
1.6
1.5.2
2000
CNRI
no
2.0
1.6
2000
BeOpen.com
no
1.6.1
1.6
2001
CNRI
no
2.1
2.0+1.6.1
2001
PSF
no
2.0.1
2.0+1.6.1
2001
PSF
yes
2.1.1
2.1+2.0.1
2001
PSF
yes
2.2
2.1.1
2001
PSF
yes
2.1.2
2.1.1
2002
PSF
yes
2.1.3
2.1.2
2002
PSF
yes
2.2.1
2.2
2002
PSF
yes
2.2.2
2.2.1
2002
PSF
yes
2.2.3
2.2.2
2002-2003
PSF
yes
2.3
2.2.2
2002-2003
PSF
yes
2.3.1
2.3
2002-2003
PSF
yes
2.3.2
2.3.1
2003
PSF
yes
2.3.3
2.3.2
2003
PSF
yes
2.3.4
2.3.3
2004
PSF
yes
2.3.5
2.3.4
2005
PSF
yes
2.4
2.3
2004
PSF
yes
2.4.1
2.4
2005
PSF
yes
2.4.2
2.4.1
2005
PSF
yes
2.4.3
2.4.2
2006
PSF
yes
2.5
2.4
2006
PSF
yes
Note:
GPL-compatible doesn't mean that we're distributing
Python under the GPL. All Python licenses, unlike the GPL, let you
distribute a modified version without making your changes open source.
The GPL-compatible licenses make it possible to combine Python with
other software that is released under the GPL; the others don't.
Thanks to the many outside volunteers who have worked under Guido's
direction to make these releases possible.
