The original Arduino dev board and its many successors have been very popular microcontroller dev boards for maker, hobby, and student projects, as well as for embedded prototypes. However, the Arduino IDE and programming language are based on C++, a powerful but complex compiled language with an odd-looking syntax and rigid punctuation rules.

Python is a newer programming language. It is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented language that combines remarkable programming power with a very clear syntax. It is known for its writability and readability, as well as for its simpler syntax. These characteristics combine to reduce the number of programming errors and make code reuse easier, and so speed software development.

The language’s interpretive nature provides immediate programmer feedback that encourages experimentation and rapid learning.