CHAPTER 1 :

INTRODUCTIO
N TO PYTHON
PROGRAMMIN
G
DFP 40203 PYTHON
PROGRAMMING
SESSION I : 2024/2025
 Display general description
about Python

Display the reason of using

Python

COURSE
Display Basic Principles of
LEARNING Python
OUTCOME
Display the features of Python

Installing and •Show the requirements for installing

Python
Python •Perform Installation of Python
Environment •Verify the Python installation
▪A high-level, general-
purpose programming
language, to write code
for various applications.
Python is known for its WHAT IS PYTHON
simplicity and PROGRAMMING ?
readability, making it
an excellent choice for
beginners and
professionals alike.
PYTHON PROGRAMMING
• Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level
programming language with dynamic semantics.
• Its high-level built in data structures, combined with dynamic
typing and dynamic binding, make it very attractive for Rapid
Application Development, as well as for use as a scripting or glue
language to connect existing components together.
• Python's simple, easy to learn syntax emphasizes readability
and therefore reduces the cost of program maintenance.
• Python supports modules and packages, which encourages program
modularity and code reuse.

• Source: https://www.python.org/doc/essays/blurb/ (2021)

WHY PYTHON PROGRAMMING ?
1. Its flexibility and simplicity which makes it easy to learn.
2. Its use by the Data Science community where it provides a more
standard programming language than some rivals such as R.
3. Its suitability as a scripting language for those working in the
DevOps field where it provides a higher level of abstraction than
alternative languages traditionally used.
4. Its ability to run on (almost) any operating system, but particularly
the big three operating systems Windows, MacOS and Linux.
5. The availability of a wide range of libraries (modules) that can be
used to extend the basic features of the language.
6. It is Free!
VERSION OF PYTHON
• Currently there are two main versions of Python called Python 2 and
Python 3.
• Python 2 was launched in October 2000 and has been, and still is,
very widely used.
• Python 3 was launched in December 2008 and is a major revision to
the language that is not backward compatible.
• The issue between the two versions can be highlighted by the simple
print facility:
- In Python 2 this is written as print 'Hello World’
- In Python 3 this is written as print ('Hello World')
• Python is an example of a hybrid programming language as it allows
you to write very procedural code, to use objects in an object
oriented manner and to write functional programs
BASIC PRINCIPLE OF PYTHON(1)
1. Hybrid programming language
o The code can be written in a procedural and object-oriented manner.

2. Interpreted language
o The source code of a Python is converted into bytecode that is then
executed by the Python virtual machine. There is no explicit compilation step in
Python.

3. Dynamically Typed Language

o The data type checking is performed at runtime. It doesn’t know about the
type of the variable until the code is run.
o In Python, the variable is declared without the need to specify the data
type.
BASIC PRINCIPLE OF PYTHON(2)
4. Automatic memory management and garbage collection
o The garbage collector automatically frees up the memory which was allocated by the
program but is no longer referenced.

5. Can be used for many types of applications:

o Web Development
o Python for Scientific development
o Data Science and Analysis

6. Can be run using several ways:

o Interactively using the Python interpreter
o Stored in a file and run using the Python command
o From within a Python IDE (Integrated Development Environment) such as
PyCharm.
FEATURES OF PYTHON
1. Easy To Learn and Use
2. Expressive Language
3. Interpreted Language
4. Cross Platform Language
5. Free and Open Sources
6. Object oriented Language
7. Extensible
8. Large standard library
9. GUI Programming Support
10.Integrated
11.Embeddable

https://www.javatpoint.com/python-features
HOW TO RUN PYTHON PROGRAM ?
There are several ways in which you can run a Python program,
including
• Interactively using the Python interpreter
• Stored in a file and run using the Python command
• Run as a script file specifying the Python interpreter to use within the
script file
• From within a Python IDE (Integrated Development
Environment) such as PyCharm.
INTERACTIVELY USING THE PYTHON INTERPRETER

• This method uses the Python REPL (Read Evaluate Print Loop style of
operation).
• Using the REPL, Python statements and expressions can be typed
into the Python prompt and will then be executed directly.
• The values of variables will be remembered and may be used later in
the session.
• To run the Python REPL, Python must have been installed onto the
computer system you are using.
• Once installed you can open a Command Prompt window
(Windows) or a Terminal window (Mac) and type python into the
prompt.
INTERACTIVELY USING THE PYTHON INTERPRETER

• This is shown for a Windows machine below:

In this case we …..

Printed out the string
'Hello World'.
Added 5 and 4
together and got the
result 9.
Stored the string 'John'
in a variable called
name.
Printed out the
contents of the
variable name.
In the above example, we interactively typed in several Python commands and
the Python interpreter 'Read' what we have typed in, 'Evaluated' it (worked out
what it should do), 'Printed' the result and then 'Looped' back ready for further
input.
RUNNING A PYTHON FILE
• We can of course store the Python commands into a file.
• This creates a program file that can then be run as an argument to
the python command.
• For example, given a file containing the following file (called
hello.py) with the 4 commands in it:
RUNNING A PYTHON FILE
• To run the hello.py program on a PC using Windows we can use the
python command followed by the name of the file:
EXECUTING A PYTHON SCRIPT
• A script is a stand-alone file that can be run directly without the need
to (explicitly) use the python command.
• This is done by adding a special line to the start of the Python file
that indicates the Python command (or interpreter) to use with the
rest of the file.
• This line must start with '#!' and must come at the start of the file.
EXECUTING A PYTHON SCRIPT
• Different systems will store Python in different locations and thus
might need different first lines, for example on a Linux we might
write:

#!/usr/local/bin/python3
print('Hello, world')
print(5 + 4)
name = 'John'
print(name)
EXECUTING A PYTHON SCRIPT
1. An example of the hello.py script for a Windows or Linux machine is
given below using Notepad++ on a Windows box.
USING PYTHON IN AN IDE
1. We can also use an IDE such as PyCharm to writing and execute our
Python program. The same program is shown using PyCharm below: