Finding Help & the Python Ecosystem

What is the difference between calling help() with no arguments versus help(obj)?

You want to know what help() shows. Does help(pprint.pprint) display the function's signature and docstring, or its source code?

In the interactive help session, how do you list the available keywords, modules, or topics you can look up?

Why would you call help("copy.copy") (a string) instead of help(copy.copy)?

What does dir(obj) return, and how is it different from help(obj)?

A docs page describes Python's interactive help. Are those help texts written separately, or where do they come from?

What does PEP stand for, and what is a PEP's purpose?

PEP 8 is the official style guide. Does the Python interpreter enforce it — e.g. reject code with bad formatting?

Which two PEPs cover code formatting and docstring conventions, and how does that differ from PEP 20?

How do you display The Zen of Python from a running interpreter?

When the docs and the standard library reference matter: why look up a module in docs.python.org even after a book covers it?

In PyCharm, which capabilities require the paid Professional Edition rather than the free Community Edition?

Out of the box, is Visual Studio Code a Python IDE? What turns it into one?

What is PyDev, and how can you use it without running Eclipse?

Which Python IDE targets scientific computing and, like Jupyter or MATLAB, runs code in independently executable cells?

Can you embed the CPython interpreter inside a closed-source commercial product and ship it without paying license fees or releasing your source?

You install the newest Anaconda and expect the newest Python interpreter. Why might you still end up on an older version?

After a PEP has been written and discussed, what are its possible fates, and can you name a concrete PEP that made it into the language?