Before getting started to learn python, let us first tell you what python actually is. Python is a high-level, object-oriented general purpose programming language. Also, it does have various applications in many fields. Some of them are web programming, artificial intelligence, data analysis and much more. This programming language is very easy to understand and helps the programmer to code in fewer lines.
If you are new to programming, then this language is for you.
History :
Python was released back in 1991. It is created by Guido van Rossum.Python was named just because of Guido’s love towards the comedy series ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’. Python’s 1st standard release was in 1994, while the version 3.6.4 at the time of writing.
Features :
Some of the notable features of the Python are :
- Easy To Understand
The language is indeed very easy to understand as its syntax makes it easy to understand.
- Portable
Python can run almost on all the platforms without making changes in the code.
- Open Source
Python is open source programming platform. You can make changes in Python’s source code too.
- Interpreted Language
Unlike C or C++, where you have to compile your code in order to let computer understand your code, Python automatically converts the code in computer understandable language.
- Object Oriented
If you know a little bit of programming, you probably already know what object-oriented programming is. If you don’t, then understand that OOP solves the problem by dividing them into smaller units or modules.
- Large Libraries Supported
Python supports a large number of libraries so that you can use any library even for a low-level task. An example can be given as MySQL. You can even make your own library.
Installation :
Coming to the installation, Python can be installed in these ways.
Download Python from here.
For Windows:
- Double click on the downloaded file.
- Follow the instructions to install.
- Python comes with IDLE to run the code to run the code.
For Linux:
- Python comes preinstalled on Linux.
- To update it, simply go to the terminal.
- type $ sudo apt-get install python3.6 (Ubuntu)
- or type $ sudo dnf install python3
For Macintosh:
- Install Xcode.
- Now install Homebrew by using this command in your terminal ($ /usr/bin/ruby -e “$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)”)
- Now by using this command (export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:$PATH), you can add Homebrew directory at the top of path environment variable.
- Then install Python 3 by using ($ brew install python3)
- Now to get started, use $ python 3.
So this was the introduction, now we’ll see some basic codes in Python in next post.
