What is Python written in?
Its runtime is implemented in C (well-documented).
Relationship Graph
All directly connected languages. Click any node to navigate to its page.
Runtime Implementation
| Language | Confidence | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 98% | CPython reference implementation in C | Source |
Influenced By
- ABC — Python's primary inspiration - Guido worked on ABC before Python
- Modula-3 — Modula-3 influenced Python's module system and exception handling
- C — C influenced Python's syntax and CPython implementation
- CLU — CLU influenced Python's iterators and call-by-object semantics
- Haskell — Haskell influenced Python's list comprehensions and functional features
- Lisp — Lisp influenced Python's functional features (map, filter, reduce)
- Smalltalk — Python influenced by Smalltalk OOP model
- Icon — Icon influenced Python's generators and string handling
- Perl — Perl influenced Python's regex and string processing
- Standard ML — Standard ML influenced Python's type concepts
- Dylan — Dylan influenced Python's object model
- Ada — Ada influenced Python's exception handling model
- ALGOL 68 — ALGOL 68 influenced Python via Guido's Dutch computing tradition
- APL — APL influenced Python's list comprehensions concept
Languages Python Influenced
- Mojo — Mojo is a Python superset for AI/ML
- Cython — Cython is superset of Python with C extensions
- mypy — Mypy is optional static type checker for Python
- Ruby — Matz cited Python as one influence
- Julia — Julia creators cited Python as key influence
- Nim — Nim syntax inspired by Python
- Elixir — Elixir influenced by Python's readability
- Swift — Swift influenced by Python's readability
- CoffeeScript — CoffeeScript indentation inspired by Python
- Groovy — Groovy influenced by Python syntax
- D — D influenced by Python's expressiveness
- Dart — Dart influenced by Python's optional typing
Frequently Asked Questions
What language is Python written in?
Python is primarily implemented in C. See the implementation section above for details and source references.
What languages influenced Python?
Python was influenced by Smalltalk, ABC, Modula-3 among others. See the influence section above for the full list.
Which languages did Python influence?
Python influenced Ruby, CoffeeScript, Groovy among others.
Evidence Sources
- https://github.com/python/cpython
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_(programming_language)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CoffeeScript
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Groovy
- https://dlang.org/overview.html
- https://docs.modular.com/mojo/
- https://julialang.org/blog/2012/02/why-we-created-julia/
- https://nim-lang.org/documentation.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elixir_(programming_language)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dart_(programming_language)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_(programming_language)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cython
- https://mypy-lang.org/