Python has evolved significantly since its initial release in 1991. The language has gone through multiple versions, each introducing new features and improvements. Below is a detailed timeline of Python versions, highlighting key changes and enhancements.

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1. Python 1.x (1991 – 2000)

🟢 First official release of Python.

🔹 Python 1.0 (February 20, 1991)

• Created by Guido van Rossum at CWI (Netherlands).
• Included basic features like:
  • Exception handling
  • Functions & modules
  • Core data types (list, dict, str, etc.)
  • print statement

🔹 Python 1.4 (1995)

• Keyword arguments introduced.
• Complex number support added.
• re module introduced for regular expressions.

🔹 Python 1.6 (September 5, 2000)

• Last version of Python 1.x.
• Introduced Unicode support.

🚀 End of Python 1.x:

• Python 2 was introduced to improve performance and fix design flaws.

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2. Python 2.x (2000 – 2010)

🟢 Transition phase: Improved features but backward compatibility issues.

🔹 Python 2.0 (October 16, 2000)

• List comprehensions ([x*x for x in range(10)]).
• Garbage collection (GC) with cycle detection.
• Unicode support for internationalization.

🔹 Python 2.4 (November 30, 2004)

• Decorators (@staticmethod, @classmethod).
• Built-in set() data structure.

🔹 Python 2.6 (October 1, 2008)

• Introduced features from Python 3 to help transition.

🔹 Python 2.7 (July 3, 2010)

• Last major release of Python 2.
• Ordered dictionaries (collections.OrderedDict).
• “print” as a function (print("Hello") instead of print "Hello").

🚀 End of Python 2:

• Official support for Python 2 ended on January 1, 2020.
• Developers were encouraged to switch to Python 3.

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3. Python 3.x (2008 – Present)

🟢 The modern version of Python with enhanced features.

🔹 Python 3.0 (December 3, 2008)

• Major improvements but NOT backward compatible with Python 2.
• print() became a function.
• Division changes (5/2 = 2.5 instead of 2).
• Unicode support by default (str is now Unicode).

🔹 Python 3.3 (September 29, 2012)

• yield from introduced for generators.
• New venv module for virtual environments.

🔹 Python 3.4 (March 16, 2014)

• pathlib for object-oriented file paths.
• asyncio for asynchronous programming.

🔹 Python 3.5 (September 13, 2015)

• async and await introduced for coroutines.
• Type hints: def add(x: int, y: int) -> int:.

🔹 Python 3.6 (December 23, 2016)

• f-strings (f"Hello {name}" for string formatting).
• secrets module for cryptographic security.

🔹 Python 3.7 (June 27, 2018)

• dataclasses for easier data structures.
• breakpoint() for built-in debugging.

🔹 Python 3.8 (October 14, 2019)

• Walrus operator (:=) for inline variable assignment.
• Improved performance.

🔹 Python 3.9 (October 5, 2020)

• Dictionary merging (dict1 | dict2).
• Type hinting improvements.

🔹 Python 3.10 (October 4, 2021)

• Pattern matching (match-case).
• int | float for simplified type hints.

🔹 Python 3.11 (October 24, 2022)

• Up to 60% faster execution speed.
• Exception grouping (try...except*).

🔹 Python 3.12 (October 2, 2023)

• Even faster performance.
• Better error messages.
• frozenmap for immutable dictionaries.

🚀 Future of Python (Python 3.13 & Beyond)

• Continued performance improvements.
• Better multi-threading & concurrency.
• More AI & machine learning optimizations.

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Summary of Python Versions

Version	Release Date	Key Features
Python 1.0	1991	First release, basic syntax, core data types
Python 2.0	2000	List comprehensions, garbage collection, Unicode
Python 2.7	2010	Last Python 2 version, ordered dictionaries
Python 3.0	2008	Unicode by default, print() function, division changes
Python 3.6	2016	f-strings, secrets module
Python 3.7	2018	dataclasses, breakpoint()
Python 3.8	2019	Walrus operator (:=), improved performance
Python 3.9	2020	Dictionary merging (`
Python 3.10	2021	Pattern matching (match-case)
Python 3.11	2022	Up to 60% faster, exception grouping
Python 3.12	2023	More speed, frozenmap, better error messages

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Conclusion

• Python 1.x: The beginning (1991-2000).
• Python 2.x: Improved but had compatibility issues (2000-2010).
• Python 3.x: The modern and future-proof version (2008-present).

Python 3 continues to evolve, focusing on speed, simplicity, and new features. 🚀

Would you like a deeper explanation of a specific version? 😊