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"Why is Python Installed on my Computer?" FAQ
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Python is a programming language. It's used for many different applications.
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It's used in some high schools and colleges as an introductory programming
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language because Python is easy to learn, but it's also used by professional
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software developers at places such as Google, NASA, and Lucasfilm Ltd.
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If you wish to learn more about Python, start with the `Beginner's Guide to
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Python <http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide>`_.
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Why is Python installed on my machine?
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If you find Python installed on your system but don't remember installing it,
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there are several possible ways it could have gotten there.
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* Perhaps another user on the computer wanted to learn programming and installed
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it; you'll have to figure out who's been using the machine and might have
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* A third-party application installed on the machine might have been written in
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Python and included a Python installation. For a home computer, the most
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common such application is `PySol <http://pysolfc.sourceforge.net/>`_, a
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solitaire game that includes over 1000 different games and variations.
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* Some Windows machines also have Python installed. At this writing we're aware
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of computers from Hewlett-Packard and Compaq that include Python. Apparently
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some of HP/Compaq's administrative tools are written in Python.
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* All Apple computers running Mac OS X have Python installed; it's included in
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the base installation.
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That depends on where Python came from.
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If someone installed it deliberately, you can remove it without hurting
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anything. On Windows, use the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel.
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If Python was installed by a third-party application, you can also remove it,
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but that application will no longer work. You should use that application's
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uninstaller rather than removing Python directly.
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If Python came with your operating system, removing it is not recommended. If
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you remove it, whatever tools were written in Python will no longer run, and
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some of them might be important to you. Reinstalling the whole system would
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then be required to fix things again.
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