Getting Started with Python Programming (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 26 Feb, 2025

**Python is a versatile, interpreted programming language celebrated for its simplicity and readability. This guide will walk us through installing Python, running first program and exploring interactive coding—all essential steps for beginners.

Install Python

Before starting this Python course first, you need to install Python on your computer. Most systems come with Python pre-installed. To verify if Python is available on your computer, simply open command line interface (Command Prompt on Windows or Terminal on macOS/Linux) and type:

python --version

If Python is installed, this command will display its version but if it is not installed then to install Python on our computer, follow these steps:

• Download Python: Go to the official Python website at https://www.python.org/. On the homepage, we will see a "Downloads" section. Click on the "Download Python" button.

python.org website

• **Choose the Version: We will be directed to a page where we can choose the version of Python we want to download. Python usually has two main versions available: Python 3. Python 3 is the recommended version. Click on the appropriate version for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).
• **Add Python to PATH (Optional): On Windows, we may be given the option to add Python to our system's PATH environment variable. This makes it easier to run Python from the command line. If you're not sure, it's usually safe to select this option.
• **Install Python:Click the "Install Now" button to begin the installation. The installer will copy the necessary files to our computer.
• **Verify the Installation****:** After the installation is complete, we can verify if Python was installed correctly by opening cmd (on Windows) or terminal (on macOS or Linux). Type: python --version. This should display the version of Python we installed.

Python Version

Step By Step Installation Guide:

• Install Python on Windows
• Install Python on Linux
• Install Python on MacOS

That's it! Python should now be installed on your computer, and you're ready to start using Python.

Create and Run your First Python Program on Terminal

Once you have Python installed, you can run the program by following these steps:

1. Open a text editor (e.g., Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on macOS, or any code editor like VS Code, PyCharm, etc.).
2. Copy the code:- print('Hello World') above and paste it into the text editor.
3. Save the file with .py extension (e.g., Hello.py).
4. Open the terminal.
5. Run the program by pressing Enter.

Python Script

You should see the output "Hello World" printed in the terminal.

Using Python’s Interactive Shell

For quick experiments, use Python’s interactive shell:

**1. Launch the Shell:

python

or, if required:

python3

Python's Interactive Shell

**2. Enter Commands Directly:

For example:

print("Hello, World!")

Python Script on Shell

**3. Exit the Shell:

exit()

Exiting the Shell

Next Steps

With Python installed and your first script running, continue your journey by exploring:

• Variables and Data Types
• Loops and Conditional Statements
• Functions and Modules

Each step will help you build confidence and deepen your understanding of Python programming. While Learning Python, we will be using Geeksforgeeks code-editor present inside every tutorial, where you can learn and modify the code for practice. Let's see how to print Printing "Hello World" on online ide.