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Python

Python is a high-level, interpreted, interactive, and object-oriented scripting language known for its readability and ease of learning. Developed by Guido van Rossum, it supports various programming paradigms and is available on multiple platforms. The document also covers installation procedures and environment setup for Python across different operating systems.

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2 views6 pages

Python

Python is a high-level, interpreted, interactive, and object-oriented scripting language known for its readability and ease of learning. Developed by Guido van Rossum, it supports various programming paradigms and is available on multiple platforms. The document also covers installation procedures and environment setup for Python across different operating systems.

Uploaded by

pavankumarnayak733
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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PYTHON:

Python is a high-level, interpreted, interactive and object-oriented scripting


language. Python is designed to be highly readable. It uses English keywords
frequently where as other languages use punctuation, and it has fewer syntactical
constructions than other languages.

 Python is Interpreted − Python is processed at runtime by the interpreter.


You do not need to compile your program before executing it. This is
similar to PERL and PHP.
 Python is Interactive − You can actually sit at a Python prompt and
interact with the interpreter directly to write your programs.
 Python is Object-Oriented − Python supports Object-Oriented style or
technique of programming that encapsulates code within objects.
 Python is a Beginner's Language − Python is a great language for the
beginner-level programmers and supports the development of a wide range
of applications from simple text processing to WWW browsers to games.

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.

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 is available on a wide variety of platforms including Linux and Mac OS X.


Let's understand how to set up our Python environment.

Local Environment Setup:


Open a terminal window and type "python" to find out if it is already installed and
which version is installed.

 Unix (Solaris, Linux, FreeBSD, AIX, HP/UX, SunOS, IRIX, etc.)


 Win 9x/NT/2000
 Macintosh (Intel, PPC, 68K)
 OS/2
 DOS (multiple versions)
 PalmOS
 Nokia mobile phones
 Windows CE
 Acorn/RISC OS
 BeOS
 Amiga
 VMS/OpenVMS
 QNX
 VxWorks
 Psion
 Python has also been ported to the Java and .NET virtual machines

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

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.

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 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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