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(python2.1-ref.info)History of the software

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History of the software
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Python was created in the early 1990s by Guido van Rossum at Stichting
Mathematisch Centrum (CWI) in the Netherlands as a successor of a
language called ABC.  Guido is Python's principal author, although it
includes many contributions from others.  The last version released
from CWI was Python 1.2.  In 1995, Guido continued his work on Python
at the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) in Reston,
Virginia where he released several versions of the software.  Python
1.6 was the last of the versions released by CNRI.  In 2000, Guido and
the Python core development team moved to BeOpen.com to form the BeOpen
PythonLabs team.  Python 2.0 was the first and only release from
BeOpen.com.

Following the release of Python 1.6, and after Guido van Rossum left
CNRI to work with commercial software developers, it became clear that
the ability to use Python with software available under the GNU Public
License (GPL) was very desirable.  CNRI and the Free Software
Foundation (FSF) interacted to develop enabling wording changes to the
Python license.  Python 1.6.1 is essentially the same as Python 1.6,
with a few minor bug fixes, and with a different license that enables
later versions to be GPL-compatible.  Python 2.0.1 is a derivative work
of Python 1.6.1, as well as of Python 2.0.

After Python 2.0 was released by BeOpen.com, Guido van Rossum and the
other PythonLabs developers joined Digital Creations.  All intellectual
property added from this point on, including Python 2.0.1 and its alpha
and beta releases, and Python 2.1.1, is owned by the Python Software
Foundation (PSF), a non-profit modeled after the Apache Software
Foundation.  See <http://www.python.org/psf/> for more information
about the PSF.

Thanks to the many outside volunteers who have worked under Guido's
direction to make these releases possible.