What is the purpose of timeout in Python?

In Python, the timeout parameter is used to set the maximum execution time for an operation, exceeding which will raise a TimeoutError. This can help prevent a program from indefinitely waiting or getting blocked in certain situations. For example, when using the recv() method of a socket, you can set a timeout value to avoid the program waiting indefinitely for data to arrive. Additionally, timeout is often used in handling network requests or other operations that need to be completed within a specified time frame.