Python For Beginners

Python For Beginners

Welcome! Are you completely new to programming? If not then we presume you will be looking for information about why and how to get started with Python. Fortunately an experienced programmer in any programming language would pick up Python very quickly. It's easy for beginners to use and learn, so jump in!

Installing

Installing Python is generally easy, and nowadays many Linux and UNIX distributions include a recent Python. Even some Windows computers come with Python already installed. If you need to install Python and aren't confident about the task you can find a few notes but installation is unremarkable on most platforms.

Learning

Before getting started, you may want to find out which IDEs and text editors are tailored to make Python editing easy, browse the list of introductory books, or look at code samples that might helpful.

There is a list of tutorials suitable for experienced programmers. There is also a list of resources in other languages which might be useful.

The online documentation is the first port of call for definitive information. There is a fairly brief tutorial that gives the basic information about the language and gets started. Follow this by looking at the library reference for a full description of Python libraries and the language reference for a complete explanation of Python's syntax. If you are looking for common Python recipes and patterns, browse the Active State Python Cookbook.

Looking for Something Specific?

If you want to know whether a particular application, or a library with particular functionality, is available in Python there are a number of possible sources of information. The Python web site provides a Python Package Index (also known as the Cheese Shop, a reference to the Monty Python script of that name). There is also a search page for a number of sources of Python-related information. Failing that, just Google for a phrase including the word ''python'' and get the result. If all fails, ask on the python newsgroup is a good chance someone will put you on the right track.