At first, I wondered why this file was created automatically. Later, I learned the reason and gained a deeper understanding.
You will never see this __pycache__.pyc
if you are working on top-level files (Single file in the folder).
__pycache__.pyc
is automatically generated at the time of importing code from other files to store compiled byte code files in .pyc
format . When a Python script or module is executed, the interpreter translates the source code into bytecode before executing it.
__pycache__.pyc
It updates only when you make changes or add a new file. This does not change the entire file; it only updates the parts you have modified.
Most online compilers hide __pycache__.pyc
, so you won't see it there.
Bytecode is not machine code; it is a Python-specific interpretation. Machine code consists of direct instructions to the hardware. Bytecode is optimized specifically for Python.
How naming works
hello_chai.cpython-312.pyc
hello_chai: this is a file name we set.
CPython: CPython is the default and most widely used implementation of the Python language.
312: This shows which version we are using as I am using 3.12
Thank you for reading.