Chapter 2. Pythonic Syntax, Common Pitfalls, and Style Guide

The design and development of the Python programming language have always been in the hands of its original author, Guido van Rossum, in many cases lovingly referred to as the Benevolent Dictator For Life (BDFL). Even though van Rossum is thought to have a time machine (he has repeatedly answered feature requests with "I just implemented that last night": http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/Guido.html), he is still just a human and needs help with the maintenance and development of Python. To facilitate that, the Python Enhancement Proposal (PEP) process has been developed. This process allows anyone to submit a PEP with a technical specification of the feature and a rationale to defend its usefulness. After a discussion on the Python mailing lists and possibly some improvements, the BDFL will make a decision to accept or reject the proposal.

The Python style guide (PEP 8: https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008...