If there is one galaxy in the software development universe that has suffered from the relentless, unstoppable, frantic, and unbearable pace of innovation, that one is, undoubtedly, JavaScript.

Welcome to the thirty-fifth issue of De Programmatica Ipsum, dedicated to the subject of Python. In this edition, Graham describes the pains caused by the decade-long migration from Python 2 to 3; Adrian describes the preeminence of Python in the software industry of 2021; and in the Library section, Graham types import this in the REPL and recites the Zen of Python by Tim Peters.

For many people, both inside and outside the Python community, even mentioning the Python language brings to mind the Python 2-3 transition. Let us see what happened.

At the risk of alienating most of the readership of this magazine, here is a confession. I hated Python for a very long time. My issue was not with the language per se, even though the indentation rules have put me off for a while. No, the reason I kept myself away from Python was the unfortunate contact with some (too many for my taste) hubris-filled Python developers. Well, that, and the no man's land that was the transition between Python 2 and 3.