What is Python?
Python is a popular
programming language. Python is a general purpose interpreted,
interactive, object-oriented, and high level programming language. It was
created during 1991 by Guido van Rossum. Like Perl, Python source code
is also available under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
It is used for:
- web development (server-side),
- software development,
- mathematics,
- system scripting.
History of Python
Python
was developed by Guido van Rossum in the late eighties and early nineties at
the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the
Netherlands.
Python
is derived from many other languages, including ABC, Modula-3, C, C++,
Algol-68, SmallTalk, and Unix shell and other scripting languages.
Python
is copyrighted. Like Perl, Python source code is now available under the GNU
General Public License (GPL).
Python
is now maintained by a core development team at the institute, although Guido
van Rossum still holds a vital role in directing its progress.
What can Python do?
- Python can be used on a server to create web
applications.
- Python can be used alongside software to
create workflows.
- Python can connect to database systems. It can
also read and modify files.
- Python can be used to handle big data and
perform complex mathematics.
- Python can be used for rapid prototyping, or
for production-ready software development.
Python Features
Python's
features include −
·
Easy-to-learn −
Python has few keywords, simple structure, and a clearly defined syntax. This
allows the student to pick up the language quickly.
·
Easy-to-read −
Python code is more clearly defined and visible to the eyes.
·
Easy-to-maintain −
Python's source code is fairly easy-to-maintain.
·
A broad
standard library − Python's bulk of the library is very portable and
cross-platform compatible on UNIX, Windows, and Macintosh.
·
Interactive
Mode − Python has support for an interactive mode which allows
interactive testing and debugging of snippets of code.
·
Portable −
Python can run on a wide variety of hardware platforms and has the same
interface on all platforms.
·
Extendable −
You can add low-level modules to the Python interpreter. These modules enable
programmers to add to or customize their tools to be more efficient.
·
Databases −
Python provides interfaces to all major commercial databases.
·
GUI
Programming − Python supports GUI applications that can be created and
ported to many system calls, libraries and windows systems, such as Windows
MFC, Macintosh, and the X Window system of Unix.
·
Scalable −
Python provides a better structure and support for large programs than shell
scripting.
Apart
from the above-mentioned features, Python has a big list of good features, few
are listed below −
·
It supports functional and structured programming methods as well
as OOP.
·
It can be used as a scripting language or can be compiled to
byte-code for building large applications.
·
It provides very high-level dynamic data types and supports
dynamic type checking.
·
IT supports automatic garbage collection.
·
It can be easily integrated with C, C++, COM, ActiveX, CORBA, and
Java.
- Python works on different platforms (Windows,
Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi, etc).
- Python has a simple syntax similar to the
English language.
- Python has syntax that allows developers to
write programs with fewer lines than some other programming languages.
- Python runs on an interpreter system, meaning
that code can be executed as soon as it is written. This means that
prototyping can be very quick.
- Python can be treated in a procedural way, an
object-orientated way or a functional way.
Good to know
- The most recent major version of Python is
Python 3, which we shall be using in this tutorial. However, Python 2,
although not being updated with anything other than security updates, is
still quite popular.
- In this tutorial Python will be written in a
text editor. It is possible to write Python in an Integrated Development
Environment, such as Thonny, Pycharm, Netbeans or Eclipse which are
particularly useful when managing larger collections of Python files.
Python Syntax
compared to other programming languages
- Python was designed to for readability, and
has some similarities to the English language with influence from
mathematics.
- Python uses new lines to complete a command,
as opposed to other programming languages which often use semicolons or
parentheses.
- Python relies on indentation, using
whitespace, to define scope; such as the scope of loops, functions and
classes. Other programming languages often use curly-brackets for this
purpose.
Getting Python
The
most up-to-date and current source code, binaries, documentation, news, etc.,
is available on the official website of Python https://www.python.org/
You
can download Python documentation from https://www.python.org/doc/.
The documentation is available in HTML, PDF, and PostScript formats.
Installing Python
Python
distribution is available for a wide variety of platforms. You need to download
only the binary code applicable for your platform and install Python.
If
the binary code for your platform is not available, you need a C compiler to
compile the source code manually. Compiling the source code offers more
flexibility in terms of choice of features that you require in your
installation.
Here
is a quick overview of installing Python on various platforms −
Unix and
Linux Installation
Here
are the simple steps to install Python on Unix/Linux machine.
·
Open a Web browser and go to https://www.python.org/downloads/.
·
Follow the link to download zipped source code available for
Unix/Linux.
·
Download and extract files.
·
Editing the Modules/Setup file
if you want to customize some options.
·
run ./configure script
·
make
·
make install
This
installs Python at standard location /usr/local/bin and
its libraries at /usr/local/lib/pythonXX where
XX is the version of Python.
Windows
Installation
Here
are the steps to install Python on Windows machine.
·
Open a Web browser and go to https://www.python.org/downloads/.
·
Follow the link for the Windows installer python-XYZ.msi file where XYZ is the
version you need to install.
·
To use this installer python-XYZ.msi,
the Windows system must support Microsoft Installer 2.0. Save the installer
file to your local machine and then run it to find out if your machine supports
MSI.
·
Run the downloaded file. This brings up the Python install wizard,
which is really easy to use. Just accept the default settings, wait until the
install is finished, and you are done.
Macintosh
Installation
Recent
Macs come with Python installed, but it may be several years out of date. See http://www.python.org/download/mac/ for
instructions on getting the current version along with extra tools to support
development on the Mac. For older Mac OS's before Mac OS X 10.3 (released in
2003), MacPython is available.
Jack
Jansen maintains it and you can have full access to the entire documentation at
his website − http://www.cwi.nl/~jack/macpython.html.
You can find complete installation details for Mac OS installation.
Setting up PATH
Programs
and other executable files can be in many directories, so operating systems
provide a search path that lists the directories that the OS searches for
executables.
The
path is stored in an environment variable, which is a named string maintained
by the operating system. This variable contains information available to the
command shell and other programs.
The path variable is named as PATH in Unix
or Path in Windows (Unix is case sensitive; Windows is not).
In
Mac OS, the installer handles the path details. To invoke the Python
interpreter from any particular directory, you must add the Python directory to
your path.
Setting path at Unix/Linux
To
add the Python directory to the path for a particular session in Unix −
·
In the
csh shell − type setenv PATH "$PATH:/usr/local/bin/python"
and press Enter.
·
In the
bash shell (Linux) − type export ATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin/python"
and press Enter.
·
In the
sh or ksh shell − type PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin/python" and
press Enter.
·
Note −
/usr/local/bin/python is the path of the Python directory
Setting path at Windows
To
add the Python directory to the path for a particular session in Windows −
At the command prompt − type path
%path%;C:\Python and press Enter.
Note − C:\Python is the path of the Python
directory
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