Whether you want to create an awesome website or to build the next matrix-like AI, you need to know to program. If you are a beginner in the programming world, then programming tutorials even for beginners might seem daunting. But, Python will be an excellent starting way for your programming journey or to build your dreams from “nothing”. In this Python Programming Tutorial series, I am going to introduce you to the beautiful world of programming and python and in this article, I’ll show you how to install and write your first python program on any version of windows.
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What is Python?
Python is basically one of the most popular and used programming languages in today’s world.
Suppose, you are feeling hungry. You may express it in many ways. You can non verbally convey it by crying or catching attention. To verbally express it, you may use any 6,500 current languages in this world.
In English, it sounds: I am Hungry
In Bangla, it is said as: আমি ক্ষুধার্ত
In Japanese, they say: お腹が空きました (Onaka ga akimashita)
The point is, no matter how you express it, in the end, it will showcase the same meaning which is your need to eat.
In the same way, to communicate with our computer and do something wonderful with it, we need to use programming languages. Every language has its own grammar, syntax, and usage.
Why this name?
When I started watching various Python tutorials, I wondered about the reason behind the name of Python Language. To be honest, whenever I hear the word “Python”, my monkey brain automatically creates a huge python snake image and makes me a bit nervous.
Well, turns out that, the creator of the Python language, Guido van Rossum used to read the published scripts from “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”. He wanted to give his programming language a short, unique, and slightly mysterious name. So inspired by Monty Python he gave his language name Python.
How to Install Python on Windows 10/8.1/8/7
Okay, enough of the chit-chat. Let’s start the fun part. In this Python Programming Tutorial, we will learn to install and run our very first program in python.
You can directly install python or install Anaconda(which will take care of it)
By installing Anaconda you have to face less hassle and can install many important packages with one click.
If you are using a Linux Operating System, chances are you already have python preinstalled.
In this python tutorial article, we will talk about how to install python on windows 10/8.1/8/7. But the procedure is more or less the same for other operating systems.
How to install Python on Windows(Step By Step Guide)
- Go to https://www.python.org/downloads/
Here you will find a “Download” button. It will download the latest version of Python. The latest version is 3.9.2 right now(2nd April 2021).
- (Optional) Choose another Python version
If you scroll down you will find older/different versions of Python. Remember, Python 2.X.X is very different than any python 3.X.X version. So, choose carefully.
- Choose x86-64 executable or zip file format in order to install Python
If you click download for the latest version, your download will automatically start. If you choose another Python version, another page will open like this. Scroll down and you will find a section named “Files”, choose x86-64 executable or zip file if you have a 64-bit machine. Choose the x86 version only if you have a 32-bit machine. (Note: you cannot run a 64 variant of python in your 32-bit machine. So, choose carefully. if you choose zip, you have to extract it with any compression software like WinRAR. I personally prefer the EXE version, because I am lazy!)
- Run the Python launcher. Check “Add Python 3.XX/2.XX to path”.
After finishing the download, run the downloaded python launcher. Check “Add Python 3.XX/2.X.X to path” NOTE: If you uncheck it, then you have to manually configure the environmental variable. Yeah! So, check it.
- Click on “Install Now” to install it to the default location.
Or you can also click on “Customize installation” to install python to your desired location. But do that, only if you know what you are doing. To avoid facing any unnecessary hassle, install Python to the default location.
- Run Command Prompt to make sure Python has installed well.
To check if python is installed, press “Windows Key + R”, write “cmd” and run. The command prompt will be opened. Now enter “Python –version” without any quotation marks. If everything works fine, you will find something like this.
(Note: Just because I have already installed Python 3.6.6 on my machine, it is showing this version. In your machine, it will show the version you installed)
Common Problems Faced to install Python on windows
Ans: You might’ve missed checking the “Add Python 3.XX to Path” option during the installation. So, now either you need to add the environment variable all by yourself or go to the folder where you have installed python. Press the Windows key(beside the left Ctrl key) and ‘R’ keys together. A new command prompt window will appear. Now check your python version as mentioned above.
Ans: Right-click the Python Installer file. Select “Run as administrator”. Now install python normally.
Ans: Uncheck the “Install launcher for all users” option when you are installing python. Once unchecked, the installer should work as expected.
Ans: Check your internet connection.
Our First Python Programming
Creating Our Work Folder
Let’s write our first python program, shall we?
Let’s make a folder named “My Python Apps”. You can make this folder anywhere you want. After that press the “windows” button and write “IDLE” and run it. This is the official python shell*. You can directly run codes from here.
Our First Python Program
Let’s print something. To print something we have to literally just type “print()” with no quotation marks. Inside there write anything you want but now with the Quotation Marks!
The reason is print is a function and the writing we are putting inside the bracket is a string that has to be declared within the quotation marks. Don’t worry, if this sounds a bit complicated, we will talk about it in detail later.
For now, let’s type exactly as follow:
print("Hello, world!")Now after pressing enter, you will have something like this:
Congratulation! You just created your first program. Let’s now experiment with it. Let’s try putting our name in there. Instead of typing “Hello World”, let’s put “My name is” and your name. Press Enter. You should have something like this:
You can also try to and experiment with other things in the print. Try to see what works and whatnot. If something won’t work, something like this might occur:
Don’t worry, it’s just an error that basically tells you what is not working. We will discuss errors more deeply in the later python tutorial articles.
Conclusion
That’s the end of the first article of this Python Programming Tutorial series. I hope you enjoyed it. In the future, we will further talk about more complex topics like functions, OOP, and others.
- Shell: In a simple term, a shell is a user interface that takes command as input, from the user and executes the command.
References
- Guido van Rossum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_van_Rossum
- Scope of Python: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/python-5-use-cases-for-programmers/ https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/what-can-you-do-with-python-the-3-main-applications-518db9a68a78
Some very useful python learning websites (in my opinion)
- https://automatetheboringstuff.com/
- https://realpython.com/
- https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python-programming-language/
- https://www.w3schools.com/python/
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