# 1 Introduction

This article explains the new features in Python 2.2, released on December 21, 2001.

Python 2.2 can be thought of as the "cleanup release". There are some features such as generators and iterators that are completely new, but most of the changes, significant and far-reaching though they may be, are aimed at cleaning up irregularities and dark corners of the language design.

This article doesn't attempt to provide a complete specification of the new features, but instead provides a convenient overview. For full details, you should refer to the documentation for Python 2.2, such as the Python Library Reference and the Python Reference Manual. If you want to understand the complete implementation and design rationale for a change, refer to the PEP for a particular new feature.

See Also:

http://www.unixreview.com/documents/s=1356/urm0109h/0109h.htm
  ``What's So Special About Python 2.2?'' is also about the new 2.2 features, and was written by Cameron Laird and Kathryn Soraiz.