Getting Started

About Python

What is Python?

Python is an easy to learn programming language. If you don't have any programming experience, Python is a good choice to start because it is easier than most programming languages.

Why Python?

One of the great features of Python programs is that they can be run without compiling, unlike languages

like C and C++, so a program can be developed very quickly.

In addition, the simple and clean syntax of the Python programming language makes it a language preferred by many programmers. Because of the clean and simple syntax of Python, writing programs and reading a program written by someone else is very easy compared to other languages.

Thanks to the above features of Python, large organizations with world-wide reputation (such as Google, YouTube and Yahoo!) always need Python programmers in their organizations.

Platform Support

Python programming language can run on many different operating systems and platforms like GNU/Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, AS/400, BeOS, MorphOS, MS-DOS, OS/2, OS/390, z/OS, RiscOS, S60, Solaris, VMS, Windows CE, HP-UX, iOS and Android. Also, a Python program written for any environment can be run in other environments with little or no changes.

Different Python Versions

If you have done any researches on Python programming language before, you should be aware that there are two different Python series on the market. Python 2.x series and Python 3.x series. If a Python version starts with a number 2, it belongs to the Python 2.x series. If a version of Python starts with a number 3, it belongs to the Python 3.x series. 

A program written in Python 2 will not work under Python 3. The same is true for the opposite, so a program written in Python 3 will not work under Python 2.

In this series, we will use Python 3.

Installing Python

GNU/Linux

Almost all GNU/Linux distributions come with Python programming language. For example, Python is already installed on Ubuntu.

If it isn't installed, you can find Python downloads here:

https://www.python.org/downloads/source/

For more information about installing Python, see this documentation page:

https://docs.python.org/3/using/unix.html

Windows

If you are using Windows, it is very easy to install. Python packages for Python comes with easy graphical installers. You can find them here:

https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/

For more information, see this documentation page:

https://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html

Use Python Online

If you can't install Python on your computer, you can use it online. These are the tools that I know:

https://www.python.org/shell/

https://repl.it/languages/python3

Running Python

You can run this command to start the Python interpreter:

python

If you have multiple Python versions installed, run this command:

python3

or

py -3

Python Interpreter

Python language comes with a tool named 'interpreter'. You might also see it referred to as an 'interactive shell'.

Interpreter translates Python code into another kind of language that computer can understand.

Interpreter looks like this:

You can't run OS command here. For example, you can't run cd command here.