pthon官网:​​https://wiki.python.org/moin/​

Python is a great object-oriented, interpreted, and interactive 
programming language. It is often compared (favorably of course :-) )
to Lisp, Tcl, Perl, Ruby, C#, Visual Basic, Visual Fox Pro, Scheme
or Java... and it's much more fun.

Python combines remarkable power with very clear syntax. It has modules,
classes, exceptions, very high level dynamic data types, and dynamic typing.
There are interfaces to many system calls and libraries, as well as to
various windowing systems. New built-in modules are easily written in C or C++
(or other languages, depending on the chosen implementation). Python is also
usable as an extension language for applications written in other languages
that need easy-to-use scripting or automation interfaces.

 翻译:

python是一个面向对象、解释和交互的优秀工具程序设计语言。它经常被和Lisp, Tcl, Perl, Ruby, C#, Visual Basic, Visual Fox Pro, Scheme 或者Java等语言比较,但是它更加有趣。

python结合了非凡的能力和非常清晰的语法。它有模块,类、异常、非常高级的动态数据类型和动态类型。有许多系统调用和库的接口,以及各种开窗系统。新的内置模块很容易用C或C++编写(或其他语言,取决于所选的实现)。Python也是可用作其他语言编写的应用程序的扩展语言需要易于使用的脚本或自动化接口。

python is powerful...and fast;
plays well with others;
runs everywhere;
is friendly & easy to learn;
is open.
There are some of the reasons people who use Python would rather not use anything else.

翻译:

python功能强大,而且迅速,交互感好,可以运行的宁愿地方多,友好易学,是开源的。这就是为什么很多人宁愿选择python而不愿意用其他语言。

Before you start, you will need Python on your computer, 
but you may not need to download it.

First of all check that you don't already have Python
installed by entering python in a command line window.
If you see a response from a Python interpreter it will
include a version number in its initial display. Generally
any recent version will do, as Python makes every attempt
to maintain backwards compatibility.

If you need to install Python, you may as well download the
most recent stable version. This is the one with the highest
number that isn't marked as an alpha or beta release.
Please see the Python downloads page for the most up to date
versions of Python 2 and Python 3. They are available via the
yellow download buttons on that page.

For advice on choosing between Python 2 and Python 3 see Python 2
or 3.

If you're running Windows: the most stable Windows downloads
are available from the Python for Windows page.

If you're running Windows XP: a complete guide to installing
ActivePython is at Python on XP: 7 Minutes To "Hello World!".
ShowMeDo has two videos for downloading, installing and getting
started with Python on a Windows XP machine - this series talks
you through the Python, ActivePython and SciPy distributions.

If you are using a Mac, see the Python for Mac OS X page.
MacOS 10.2 (Jaguar), 10.3 (Panther), 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard)
already include various versions of Python.

For Red Hat, install the python2 and python2-devel packages.

For Debian or Ubuntu, install the python2.x and python2.x-dev packages.

For Gentoo, install the '=python-2.x*' ebuild (you may have to unmask it first).

For other systems, or if you want to install from source, see the general
download page.

翻译:

在开始学习之前,如果你的电脑上没有Python,你就需要安装一个。在命令行窗口里面输入Python看看系统是否安装了python,如果看到Python解释器的包含版本号的相应,说明系统是安装了python的。通常比较新的python版本都会向后兼容。

如果你要安装python,最好安装最新的稳定版本,就是没有被标记为alpha或者beta的发行版。

其他的是一些系统推荐版本。下载链接:​​https://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/Download​​。

其实对我来说,python语言能和其他语言匹敌,不算什么,最强大的地方是,它竟然要和matlab比较。matlab可是计算界的大佬,精细快速的计算。