The Python standard library

This library reference manual describes the standard library distributed with Python. It also describes some of the optional components that are commonly included in Python distributions.

Elsewhere, La référence du langage Python describes the exact syntax and semantics of the Python language, and Python built-ins reference describes the built-in functions.

Python's standard library is extensive, offering a wide range of facilities as indicated by the long table of contents listed below. The library contains built-in modules (written in C) that provide access to system functionality such as file I/O that would otherwise be inaccessible to Python programmers, as well as modules written in Python that provide standardized solutions for many problems that occur in everyday programming. Some of these modules are explicitly designed to encourage and enhance the portability of Python programs by abstracting away platform-specifics into platform-neutral APIs.

Les installateurs de Python pour Windows incluent généralement la bibliothèque standard en entier, et y ajoutent souvent d'autres composants. Pour les systèmes d'exploitation Unix, Python est typiquement fourni sous forme d'une collection de paquets, il peut donc être nécessaire d'utiliser le gestionnaire de paquets fourni par le système d'exploitation pour obtenir certains composants optionnels.

Au delà de la bibliothèque standard, il existe une collection grandissante de plusieurs centaine de milliers de composants (des programmes, des modules, ou des frameworks), disponibles dans le Python Package Index.