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Simplicity may often get ignored but I think it's been a big reason for Python's success which has gone from about #10 on the TIOBE language list to #1 since when I started learning it, which was probably around when the XKCD "everything is so simple" cartoon came out. (https://xkcd.com/353/)

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Doubtful it is anything to do with simplicity.

Python's success is explained by it being the language of choice for AI.

I think its the other way around. Python became the language of choice for AI because it was already popular. Lots of things made it popular: use for systems management scripts, web apps (Django, especially), then numerical stuff,...

I think the reason is that it is easy to learn enough to get things done, but it is very flexible, very readable, and once the ecosystem started gaining momentum (which it clearly had by the time of the XKCD cartoon) that became an advantage too.

Python has been massive since the 2000s. When AI rolled around, it was already there, a bunch of people knew it, and it was Good Enough (tm).

I have been programming in python since the 90's too. The success IMO is still that it retains the simplicity and CFFI. Moving up TIOBE is more of CFFI and the ecosystem.

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