Python is a high level scripting language which is interpreted, interactive and object-oriented. A key attribute of python is its clear and understandable syntax which should allow you to quickly get up to speed and develop useful application, while the syntax is similar enough to lower level languages, for example C/C++ and Java, to provide a background from which you can grow your expertise. Python is also a so called memory managed language, meaning that you the developer are not directly in control of the memory usage within your application, making development much simpler. That is not saying that memory usage does not need to be considered and you, the developer, cannot influence the memory footprint of your scripts but these details are out of the scope of this course. Python is cross-platform with support for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and most other UNIX platforms. In addition, many libraries (e.g., purpose built and external C++ libraries) are available to python and it has become a very popular language for many applications, including on the internet and within remote sensing and GIS.Python can be used for almost any task from simple file operations and text manipulation to image processing. It may also be used to extend the functionality of other, larger applications.
Author: Pete Bunting