the official unofficial haunting of a language
Python is a tongue of old magics that lets you conjure systems swiftly, and bind sprawling code into one obedient familiar.
Whisper an incantation at the prompt, and the serpent answers in kind.
# Simple arithmetic
>>> 1 / 2
0.5
>>> 2 ** 3
8
>>> 17 / 3 # true division returns a float
5.666666666666667
>>> 17 // 3 # floor division
5Calculations are simple with the serpent's tongue, and its grammar is unnervingly straightforward: the sigils +, -, * and / work exactly as foretold; parentheses () bind a working into groups.
# Python 3: List comprehensions
>>> specters = ['Banshee', 'Wraith', 'Ghoul']
>>> wailing = [s.upper() for s in specters]
>>> print(wailing)
['BANSHEE', 'WRAITH', 'GHOUL']
>>> list(enumerate(specters))
[(0, 'Banshee'), (1, 'Wraith'), (2, 'Ghoul')]Lists — known as arrays to lesser tongues — are one of the compound forms the serpent understands. They can be indexed, sliced, and bent to your will with built-in rites.
# For loop on a list
>>> numbers = [2, 4, 6, 8]
>>> product = 1
>>> for number in numbers:
... product = product * number
...
>>> print('The curse multiplies to:', product)
The curse multiplies to: 384The serpent knows the usual rites of control that other tongues speak — if, for, while and range — each carrying its own unsettling twist.
# Python 3: Fibonacci series up to n
>>> def haunt(n):
... a, b = 0, 1
... while a < n:
... print(a, end=' ')
... a, b = b, a + b
... print()
>>> haunt(144)
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89The heart of extensible sorcery is defining functions. The serpent allows mandatory and optional arguments, keyword offerings, and even arbitrary argument lists.
# Simple output (with Unicode)
>>> print("Hello, I haunt in Python!")
Hello, I haunt in Python!
>>> name = input('Who disturbs my rest?\n')
>>> print(f'Beware, {name}.')
Who disturbs my rest? Traveler
Beware, Traveler.Practitioners of any other tongue can pick up the serpent's speech swiftly, and novices find its clean grammar and indentation easy to master, even by candlelight.
Whether you're new to the dark arts or a seasoned conjurer, the serpent's grammar is easy to learn and easier to fall under the spell of.
Start with the Beginner's Guide →
Source code and installers are ready for those brave enough to summon them, for every platform under the moon.
Latest: Python 3.14.7 →
Documentation for the standard library, alongside tutorials and guides, are preserved online for those who seek them.
docs.python.org →
"Some of the things it spots are impressive — probably driven by some introspection and/or type inference, not just the simple pattern matching I'm used to in most of the flake8 ecosystem."
Django, Pyramid, Bottle, Tornado, Flask, Litestar, FastAPI
tkInter, PyGObject, PyQt, PySide, Kivy, wxPython, DearPyGui
PyTorch, TensorFlow, scikit-learn, Transformers, Anthropic, LangChain
SciPy, Pandas, IPython
Buildbot, Trac, Roundup
Ansible, Salt, OpenStack, xonsh
The mission of this Order is to promote, protect and advance the serpent's tongue, and to support and grow a diverse, international coven of those who speak it.
Turn down the torches and let the crypt hum along.