How is the source code in Python interpreted and executed?

Python source code is first compiled into bytecode — an intermediate representation that is platform-independent. This bytecode is stored in .pyc files and then executed by the Python Virtual Machine (PVM).

The PVM interprets the bytecode by executing instructions sequentially. This approach allows code to run on different platforms without modification, as the PVM is implemented separately for each.

Example:

# Source code
print("Hello, World!")

When run, the interpreter first converts this code into bytecode, then executes it, displaying the string on the screen.