Python is a commonly used programming language.
What is a programming language?
A programming language is a language used to write instructions which a computer can understand and perform operations implied by the program written.
Python is a high level language which makes it user friendly in developing programs. It's use is not limited to creating certain programs only hence it is a general purpose language. With Python, you can create applications, games, websites, small programs (scripts) which enable automation of everyday tasks like sending WhatsApp messages or emails and even large projects like an e-commerce website. Python has a lot of libraries which enable massive list of functionalities from Data Science, Machine Learning and Software development.
Arguably, python is the most popular programming language.
History of Python
Python was first conceived in the 1980s and it's implementation was started in 1989 by Guido van Rossum at CWI in the Netherlands as a successor to ABC capable of exception handling and interfacing with the Amoeba operating system. Over time, python has grown to a community which contributes to it's development and growth since it is developed under an OSI-approved open source license. This makes Python freely usable and distributable.
Getting Started with Python
To get started with Python, it is not necessary to have prior programming experience since you can learn programming fundamentals with Python.
Python programs are developed in an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) which is a software for building applications. It integrates several software tools in a single environment. Some of the most common IDEs for Python are; IDLE which comes with an installation of python, Pycharm, Visual Studio Code, Thonny.
Downloading Python and Setting up environment
Choose your most preferred Python version depending on your environment here Python for Windows, Linux/UNIX, macOS operating systems and install.
Make sure python is installed on your computer's environment PATH.
To check if you have python installed on a Windows PC, search in the start bar for Python or run the following on the Command Line (cmd.exe):
python --version
python3 --version
To check if you have python installed on a Linux or Mac, then on Linux open the command line or on Mac open the Terminal and type:
python --version
You will get the Python version installed in your machine.
You can access python shell from your command line by typing:
python
For Windows and
python3
For Linux or Mac
You can then type your first program into the command line
print("Hello World")
You get output:
Hello world!
However, this will run only once and will not be saved for future reference. To run programs that can be re-run, you need to write them inside an IDE and save them.
Good news is, you are already started with programming in Python, the most in-demand language.
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