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Python Environment Setup

We need to install and configure a few things before we can write and run any Python code. To write Python code we need the Python interpreter on our machine.

1. Install the Python 3 Interpreter

To write python programs on your machine we need the Python interpreter. There are 2 popular versions of Python out there right now Python 2 and Python 3. There are breaking changes between these versions and this course will be taught in Version 3. So as long as you have python version 3.{something}.{something} you're good to go 🙂

Download python from this website 🌐.

To check that python has been correctly installed on your machine run the following command on your terminal:

python --version

It should have an output akin to:

Python 3.8.3

Once that Python has been successfully installed, we need to install a code editor or IDE so that we can write programs and run them. I suggest using VS Code if you prefer a Code editor over an IDE (or if you don't know the difference between Code editor and IDE 😉). using a code editor will aso be less intensive on computing resources.

I personally prefer the JetBrains PyCharm, but warning ⚠ it is a heavy software and might not run properly on all machines (especially laptops that are constrained for resources).

2. Installing VS Code (or go to step 3 - Installing PyCharm)

  1. Download the setup from here.
  2. Run the setup which is pretty straight forward. Just click next like 10 times and voila!

3. Installing JetBrains PyCharm

  1. You can either install the educational edition (free) from here.
  2. Or you can create an account on JetBrains if you have a university email address and then install the JetBrains Toolbox.
  3. You can easily manage JetBrains IDE's and projects using the ToolBox app. From the ToolBox app you can now install either IntelliJ PyCharm Edu Edition or Ultimate Edition.

4. Installing git (Optional - Only required for Windows users)

This is an optional step of your getting started guide and can be skipped. Although installing git and using it in your projects is highly recommended. For a learning path to learn git have a look at the Future Path + Scope section.

Install git from the git-scm website. Run the setup and click next like 10 times and use the recommended settings for installation.

There will be a section when it will ask the standard text editor and gie you an option between Vim and nano. If you are not familiar with Vim then opt for nano.

IMPORTANT Opt for nano if not familiar with Vim.

To check your installation of git check that git bash has been intalled and run the following command on your terminal.

git --version

The output should be akin to

git version 2.24.1.windows.2

5. Writing your first Python Program

Open your text editor/IDE and create a new file hello_world.py and in that file copy paste the following code snippet.

print('hello world !')

To run the code navigate to file in terminal and run the following commands.

python hello_world.py
>>> hello world !