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4 The Python Standard Library
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10 While :ref:`reference-index` describes the exact syntax and
11 semantics of the Python language, this library reference manual
12 describes the standard library that is distributed with Python. It also
13 describes some of the optional components that are commonly included
14 in Python distributions.
16 Python's standard library is very extensive, offering a wide range of
17 facilities as indicated by the long table of contents listed below. The
18 library contains built-in modules (written in C) that provide access to
19 system functionality such as file I/O that would otherwise be
20 inaccessible to Python programmers, as well as modules written in Python
21 that provide standardized solutions for many problems that occur in
22 everyday programming. Some of these modules are explicitly designed to
23 encourage and enhance the portability of Python programs by abstracting
24 away platform-specifics into platform-neutral APIs.
26 The Python installers for the Windows platform usually includes
27 the entire standard library and often also include many additional
28 components. For Unix-like operating systems Python is normally provided
29 as a collection of packages, so it may be necessary to use the packaging
30 tools provided with the operating system to obtain some or all of the
33 In addition to the standard library, there is a growing collection of
34 several thousand components (from individual programs and modules to
35 packages and entire application development frameworks), available from
36 the `Python Package Index <http://pypi.python.org/pypi>`_.