Boto

Boto is a software development kit (SDK) designed to improve the use of the Python programming language in Amazon Web Services. The Boto project started as a customer-contributed library to help developers build Python-based applications in the cloud, converting application programming interface (API) responses from AWS into Python classes.

Boto has become the official AWS SDK for Python. Boto versions include Boto, Boto3 and Botocore. Boto3 is the latest version of the SDK, providing support for Python versions 2.6.5, 2.7 and 3.3. Boto3 includes several service-specific features to ease development. Boto supports all current AWS cloud services, including Elastic Compute Cloud, DynamoDB, AWS Config, CloudWatch and Simple Storage Service.

Boto3 replaced Boto version 2, which lacks compatibility with the latest versions of Python, but still appeals to software developers using older versions of the programming language. Botocore provides more rudimentary access to AWS tools, simply making low-level client requests and getting results from APIs.

Boto derives its name from the Portuguese name given to types of dolphins native to the Amazon River.