Why is Python installed on my machine?

If you find Python installed on your system but don’t remember installing it, there are several possible ways it could have gotten there.

• Perhaps another user on the computer wanted to learn programming and installed it; you’ll have to figure out who’s been using the machine and might have installed it.

• A third-party application installed on the machine might have been written in Python and included a Python installation. For a home computer, a common such application is PySol, a solitaire game that includes over 200 different games and variations. Several computer games and other applications also ship with Python interpreters.

• Some Windows machines also have Python installed. At this writing we’re aware of computers from Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, and Lenovo (IBM) that include Python, and use it for various administrative tools.

• All Apple computers running Mac OS X have Python installed; it’s included in the base installation.

• Many Unix systems (especially Linux systems) ship with Python installed.

CATEGORY: installed