tedious as it requires many lines of instruction to perform even a simple task.
Fortunately, over the years, many “high-level” programming languages have been
developed that allow the coder to compose instructions in more human-readable form.
These modern high-level programs are automatically translated into the machine code that
the computer can understand by a “compiler” or by an “interpreter”. In order to become a
coder you must typically learn at least one of these high-level programming languages:
• C – a powerful compiled language that is closely mapped to machine code and used to
develop operating systems
• C++ – an enhanced compiled language developing on C to provide classes for Object
Oriented Programming (OOP)
• C# – a modern compiled language designed by Microsoft for the .NET framework and
Common Language Infrastructure
• Java – a portable compiled language that is designed to run on any platform regardless
of the hardware architecture
• Python – a dynamic interpreted language that allows both functional and Object
Oriented Programming (OOP)
Programs written in an interpreted language can be run immediately but those
written in compiled languages must first be compiled before they can be run.
Just as human languages have similarities, such as verbs and nouns, these programming
languages have certain similarities as they each possess “data structures”, in which to store
information, and “control structures” that determine how the program proceeds.
The examples in this book use the Python language to demonstrate how to code computer
programs as it has a simple language syntax, requires no compilation, includes a large
library of standard functions, and can be used to create both Console programs and
windowed GUI (Graphical User Interface) apps.
Python is a total package of “batteries included”.
Setting up
Before you can begin coding programs in the Python language you need to set up a
programming environment on your computer by installing the Python interpreter and the
standard library of tested code modules that comes along with it. This is available online
as a free download from the Python Software Foundation.
Launch a web browser and navigate to [Link]/downloads then click the
Downloads button to grab the latest version for your system – in this case it’s
“Python 3.4.2”
When the download completes run the installer and choose whether to install for
all users or just yourself, then click the Next button to proceed
Now, accept the suggested default installation location, which will be a directory
on your root C:\ drive named “Python” and version number – in this example it’s a
directory at C:\Python34 for Python version 3.4.2
Installers for Mac OS X and Other Platforms are also freely available at
[Link]/downloads
Do accept the suggested destination directory – such as C:\Python34 that is
suggested here.
Click the Next button to proceed then be sure to select the feature to “Add
[Link] to Path”
Click on Next to begin copying files onto your computer then click the Finish
button to complete the installation
Upon completion the Python group is added to your Start/Apps menu. Most important of
this group is the IDLE item that launches the Python integrated development environment.
Adding Python to the system Path makes it available from within any directory.
After installation, you can exactly enter the command python -V at a Command
Prompt to see the interpreter respond with its version number.
You will use the IDLE launcher often so right-click on its icon and choose “Pin to
taskbar” to make it readily available from the Windows Desktop.
