Introduction to Python Programming Using Python 3.7.x
What is Python Programming Language?
Python programming language is the world's fastest growing programming language widely adopted by software engineers for a plethora of task such as data analysis, data science, sever-side of web development, software development, artificial intelligence, mathematics & statistics and a lot more. It was created by a Dutch programmer named Guido van Rossum, and released in 1991.
Why Learn python programming language?
Five reasons to learn Python programming language:
Python is a general-purpose programming language. This means it can be used for different tasks ranging from web development to data analysis, building great softwares like web crawlers, and machine learning capabilities.
Python is a versatile and popular programming language. It is adopted by software developers around the world.
It’s great as a first language. Not only because it is easy to read and write, it is very simple and quick to get started with writing codes. Its syntax is relatively simple in comparison to other programming languages. It is similar to the English language with influence from basic mathematical concepts. I mean, take a look at the difference between a simple Hello World program in Java programming as well as Python programming below.
- Java Hello World Program.
- Python Hello World Program.
- Output
It is also a good language to know and have in any programmer’s stack. This is because it can be used for almost everything like we said earlier from web development to software development and scientific applications. Not only that, it is the language that is most adopted in the wave of AI technology, machine learning, data science and the likes.
It has a huge following of developers and documentation. This means that you can easily get help when you run into issues or need help with debugging.
Java Hello World Program
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Hello, Archangel!");
}
}
Python Hello World Program
print("Hello, Archangel!")
Output for both programs:
Important Tips to Keep in Mind When Learning Python Programming on Sikademy
In this tutorial series, we will be using the latest version of Python programming language which is Python 3. However, it is important to know that Python 2 is still widely adopted, and used in some applications.
This tutorial series will be taught entirely using a text editor. We deliberately scraped out the use of our online code compilation. This decision was made because we noticed most learners, especially the beginners and few advanced programmers, do not know how to set up their computer for coding or become too lazy to write codes after completing tutorials using online compilation.
By removing the use of online code compilation on Sikademy, you will learn to:
Read and write codes easily.
Combat laziness that comes from thinking about a problem, debugging errors and writing codes.
Set up your computer to code effectively and work on larger projects.
Even though we will be using a text editor, it is possible to write Python programs in an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), such as Pycharm, Netbeans or Eclipse which are most useful when writing programs involving a larger number of Python files.
If you already have your computer set up to code using Python programming language, you are welcome to skip the next tutorial. Otherwise, the next tutorial will teach you how to set up your computer to code with the latest version of Python programming language
Unlike other languages that makes use of curly brackets
{ ... }for scope definition and enclosing block of codes, python relies on the use of whitespace. It uses whitespace for indentation (each indentation is approximately four single spaces or 1 tab space), define the scope of loops, decision statements, functions and classes.To end a command or program, most programming languages make use of semicolons or parentheses. However, Python ends a command by using a newline.