A Journey into Python Programming

History and Evolution of Python

Guido Van Rossam began Python's development in the late 1980s. ABC programming language inspired Guido to revolutionize the programming field by creating a programming language that was easy to learn, efficient, and capable of fostering a strong community of developers. The initial release of Python(0.9.0) was introduced in 1991 and it cracked the programming community and quickly became popular amongst the developers.

Over all these years, Python has released various versions such as 2.x and 3.x being the most significant milestones. Plethora of projects quickly adopted Python 2.x but it had various design limitations. Python creators released Python 3.0 in 2008 which addressed these limitations introduced new features. Today, Python creators recommend 3.x version for all new projects, whereas Python 2.x is now considered legacy version and no longer maintained and supported by the creators.

Features and Advantages of Python

Simple and Readable Syntax

Python's programming syntax is intuitive and readable that makes it easy to understand as well as to write code. The Python's indentation enforcement was a design choice for its creators as it enhances readability and consistent formatting throughout the entire program.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Wondering about platform portability of Java? Python also supports platform independency. You write your program on one platform and execute on another without making significant changes. It supports Windows, macOS, and Unix-based platforms. This cross-platform compatibility gives an extra edge to Python.

Vast Standard Library

Python has a huge and gigentic standard library that provids various modules and functions for variety of tasks. Think about the task and you find it in standard libratry. It is as simple as that. This eliminates the need to write code from scratch for many common functionalities therfore saves development time and effort of developers.

Large and Active Community

Python is community driven programming language. The developer's community is very large and it actively contributes to the Python's development by creating useful libraries, frameworks, and tools to enhance its capabilities.

Extensive Third-Party Libraries

Python has it's own ecosystem of third-party libraries that offers solutions for specific domains, for example, data analysis, web development, scientific computing, machine learning, and more. These libraries help developers to leverage existing code and accelerate the software development process.

High-Level Language

Python abstracts complex low-level details, allowing developers to focus on problem-solving rather than worrying about memory management or other implementation-specific aspects. This high-level nature makes Python an excellent choice for beginners and experts alike.

Installing and Setting up Python

1. Go to the official Python website and navigate to the "Downloads" section.
2. Download the installer for the desired Python version. Python 3.x is a perfect choice for beginners.
3. Run the downloaded installer and follow the provided installation instructions.
4. Ensure that the selection of the "Add Python to PATH" option during installation. This option will allow Python to be run from the command line or terminal.
5. Once the installation is complete, open a command prompt or terminal and verify the installation by typing python --version. It should display the installed Python version.

With Python successfully installed, we can start writing and executing Python code using any preferred code editor or integrated development environment (IDE).

First Python Program

Open any editor, write the below statements, and save the file with the name first_python_program.py

print("Hello World!")

Execute the Program

Open any terminal, go to the directory where you saved first_python_program.py, and press Enter to execute the program:

$ python first_python_program.py

Conclusion

Python is a versatile and potent programming language known for its simplicity, readability, and extensive ecosystem. Its history, evolution, and numerous features make it popular for various applications. By installing Python and learning its syntax and features, we can embark on a journey of programming and explore the vast possibilities that Python offers.

In the following sections of this Python Programming Course, we will dive deeper into Python's core concepts, including variables, data types, control flow structures, functions, modules, and more. Stay tuned for more exciting topics and practical examples to enhance our Python programming skills.