python 3.8

Python 3.8 was a major release of the Python programming language. It was officially released on October 14, 2019. Here are some of the notable features and improvements introduced in Python 3.8:

1. Assignment Expressions (the Walrus Operator): Python 3.8 introduced the := operator, known as the “walrus operator.” It allows you to assign a value to a variable as part of an expression. For example:pythonCopy codeif (count := len(my_list)) > 10: print(f"List is too long ({count} elements, expected <= 10)")
2. Positional-Only Parameters: You can now specify that certain function parameters can only be passed by position and not by keyword. This is done using the / syntax in function definitions.
3. f-strings improvements: Python 3.8 introduced the ability to use the = symbol to display both the expression and its value in an f-string. For example:pythonCopy codex = 10 print(f'The value of x is {x=}') # Output: The value of x is x=10
4. future Annotations: You can now use from __future__ import annotations to evaluate type annotations in function signatures at runtime. This allows forward references in type hints.
5. New Syntax Warnings: Python 3.8 added new syntax warnings for situations that are likely to be errors, such as using == to compare to None instead of is.
6. math.prod(): Python 3.8 introduced the math.prod() function for calculating the product of a sequence of numbers.
7. f-strings for debugging: You can use f-strings to quickly print debugging information, making it easier to format and display variable values during debugging.
8. import() Function: A new __import__() function was introduced for programmatic module imports.
9. TypedDict: Python 3.8 introduced the typing.TypedDict class for creating dictionaries with a fixed set of keys and value types.
10. Performance Improvements: Python 3.8 included various performance improvements and optimizations, such as faster function calls and dictionary lookups.
11. Syntax and Syntax Warnings: Python 3.8 introduced a number of syntax changes and warnings to improve code clarity and highlight potential issues.

These are just some of the key features and improvements introduced in Python 3.8. It’s important to note that Python continues to evolve, and newer versions may have additional features and improvements.