# 1.2 Python Introduction

Python is a programming language released by the Dutch programmer [Guido Van Rossum](https://twitter.com/gvanrossum) in 1991. An avid fan of the British comedy troupe *Monty Python*, he even named his programming language after them.

As far as programming languages go, Python is very readable and is easy to pick up - especially for new coders!

```python
welcome_message = "Welcome to the Dynamo Python Primer!"
```

Despite this straightforwardness, it's a powerful and flexible language which has led to its rapid and widespread adoption among software developers all over the world. 

#### Want to Learn Python?

This guide won't teach you the Python language - there are so many excellent resources for that already! Codecademy provides a free [online course in Python 2](https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-python), which runs entirely in the browser (like software, programming languages have versions, too!)

{% hint style="info" %}
**Please Note**: Python 2 isn't the most up-to-date version of Python!\
However, it's the version that Dynamo uses. The differences between Python 2 and Python 3 are hardly noticeable, especially for beginners.
{% endhint %}