Python Tutorial

Today, Python is one of the most popular programming languages. Although it is a general-purpose language, it is used in various areas of applications such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, web development, IoT, and more.

This Python tutorial has been written for the beginners to help them understand the basic to advanced concepts of Python Programming Language. After completing this tutorial, you will find yourself at a great level of expertise in Python, from where you can take yourself to the next levels to become a world class Software Engineer.

What is Python?

Python is a very popular general-purpose interpreted, interactive, object-oriented, and high-level programming language. Python is a dynamically-typed and garbage-collected programming language. It was created by Guido van Rossum during 1985- 1990.

Python supports multiple programming paradigms, including Procedural, Object Oriented and Functional programming language. Python design philosophy emphasizes code readability with the use of significant indentation.

This Python tutorial gives a complete understanding of Python programming language, starting from basic concepts to advanced concepts. This tutorial will take you through simple and practical approaches while learning Python Programming language.

Characteristics of Python

• It supports functional and structured programming methods as well as OOP.
• It can be used as a scripting language or can be compiled to byte-code for building large applications.
• It provides very high-level dynamic data types and supports dynamic type checking.
• It supports automatic garbage collection.
• It can be easily integrated with C, C++, COM, ActiveX, CORBA, and Java.

Applications of Python

• In Data Science, Python libraries like Numpy, Pandas, and Matplotlib are used for data analysis and visualization.
• Python frameworks like Django, and Pyramid, make the development and deployment of Web Applications easy.
• This programming language also extends its applications to computer vision and image processing.
• It is also favored in many tasks like Automation, Job Scheduling, GUI development, etc.

Features of Python

• Easy-to-learn - Python has few keywords, simple structure, and a clearly defined syntax. This allows the student to pick up the language quickly.
• Easy-to-read - Python code is more clearly defined and visible to the eyes.
• Easy-to-maintain - Python's source code is fairly easy-to-maintain.
• A broad standard library - Python's bulk of the library is very portable and cross-platform compatible on UNIX, Windows, and Macintosh.
• Interactive Mode - Python has support for an interactive mode that allows interactive testing and debugging of snippets of code.
• Portable - Python can run on a wide variety of hardware platforms and has the same interface on all platforms.
• Extendable - You can add low-level modules to the Python interpreter. These modules enable programmers to add to or customize their tools to be more efficient.
• Databases - Python provides interfaces to all major commercial databases.
• GUI Programming - Python supports GUI applications that can be created and ported to many system calls, libraries, and Windows systems, such as Windows MFC, Macintosh, and the X Window system of Unix.
• Scalable - Python provides a better structure and support for large programs than shell scripting.

Why to Learn Python?

Python is consistently rated as one of the world's most popular programming languages. Python is fairly easy to learn, so if you are starting to learn any programming language, then Python could be your great choice. Today, various schools, colleges, and universities are teaching Python as their primary programming language. There are many other good reasons that make Python the top choice of any programmer:

• Python is open source, which means it's available free of cost.
• Python is simple and so easy to learn.
• Python is versatile and can be used to create many different things.
• Python has powerful development libraries, including AI, ML, etc.
• Python is much in demand and ensures a high salary.

Python is a MUST for students and working professionals to become great software engineers, especially when they are working in the web development domain. I will list down some of the key advantages of learning Python:

• Python is Interpreted - Python is processed at runtime by the interpreter. You do not need to compile your program before executing it. This is similar to PERL and PHP.
• Python is Interactive - You can actually sit at a Python prompt and interact with the interpreter directly to write your programs.
• Python is Object-Oriented - Python supports Object-Oriented style or technique of programming that encapsulates code within objects.
• Python is a Beginner's Language - Python is a great language for the beginner-level programmers and supports the development of a wide range of applications from simple text processing to WWW browsers to games.

Pythonic Code Style

Python leaves you free to choose to program in an object-oriented, procedural, functional, aspect oriented, or even logic-oriented way. These freedoms make Python a great language to write clean and beautiful code.

Pythonic Code Style is actually more of a design philosophy and suggests to write a code which is :

• Clean Simple
• Beautiful
• Explicit
• Readable

Careers with Python

If you know Python nicely, then you have a great career ahead. Here are just a few of the career options where Python is a key skill:

• Game developer
• Web designer
• Python developer
• Machine learning engineer
• Data scientist
• Data analyst
• Data engineer
• DevOps engineer
• Software engineer

Download Python

You can download Python from its official website: https://www.python.org/downloads/

Target Audience: Who Can Learn Python?

This tutorial has been prepared for the beginners to help them understand the basics to advanced concepts of Python programming language. After completing this tutorial, you will find yourself at a great level of expertise in Python programming, from where you can take yourself to the next levels.

Prerequisites to Learn Python

Although it is a beginners tutorial, we assume that the readers have a reasonable exposure to any programming environment and knowledge of basic concepts such as variables, commands, syntax, etc.