Interpreted language

Python is an interpreted language. It is written in C, a compiled language, and the code is "interpreted" from Python into C before it is executed. Practically, this means that the code is executed as soon as it is converted and compiled. While the code interpretation can have speed implications for the execution of Python-based programs, this has very little real-world implications for its use with ArcGIS. Testing of code snippets is much faster in an interpretive environment, and it is perfect for creating scripts to automate basic, repeatable computing tasks.