Getting Started with Python

1. 1.B. Choosing a Python IDE 🏗️

You can write Python code in different environments:

📝 IDLE – Comes with Python (Basic Editor)
⚡ VS Code – Lightweight & powerful (Recommended)
🐍 PyCharm – Great for large projects
🌐 Jupyter Notebook – Best for data science

💡 You can also run Python scripts in a simple text editor and execute them in the terminal:

Write Your First Python Program 💻

Now, let’s write a simple “Hello, World!” program!

1. Using Python Interpreter (Command Line Mode)

1. Open a terminal and type:

print("Hello, World!")

2. Press Enter and see Python in action! 🎊

3. Exit the interpreter using exit() or Ctrl+D.

 2. Writing a Python Script:

1. Open a text editor (Notepad, VS Code, PyCharm, etc.).
2. Create a new file: hello.py.

 3. Write the following code:

 print("Hello, World!")

 4. Save the file and run it in the terminal:

python hello.py

 5. Output:

Hello, World!

3. Using Python Without Installation (Online Editors)

If you don’t want to install Python, you can use online editors:

🔹 Google Colab – https://colab.research.google.com/
🔹 Replit – https://replit.com/~
🔹 Jupyter Notebook (via Anaconda or Google Colab)
🔹 OnlineGDB – https://www.onlinegdb.com/

Example: Run this code in an online editor:

print("Hello, Python Online!")

Printing in Python

• The print() function is used to display text or other information on the screen.
• It helps us check program output or print messages for the user.

Example:

print("Hello, Python Learners!")

Explanation:

• The print() function takes a string (text enclosed in quotes) and displays it on the screen.
• Here, “Hello, Python Learners!” is printed as output.

Parameters of the print() Function in Python

The print() function in Python has multiple parameters that allow customization of the output. The most commonly used parameters are:

1. objects → The values to print.
2. sep (separator) → Defines how multiple values are separated.
3. end → Specifies what to print at the end of the output.
4. file → Redirects output to a file instead of the console.
5. flush → Controls buffering when printing.

1. objects (Values to Print)

The print() function can print strings, numbers, variables, lists, and more.

Example:

print("Hello, World!")

print(42)

print(3.14)

print(True)

Output:

Hello, World!

42

3.14

True

You can print multiple values by separating them with commas:

print("Hello", "Python", "Learners!")

Output:

Hello Python Learners!

2. sep (Separator)

By default, print() separates multiple values with a space (” “). The sep parameter allows you to change the separator.

Example:

print("Apple", "Banana", "Cherry", sep=", ")

Output:

Apple, Banana, Cherry

Example with Special Characters:

print("Python", "Java", "C++", sep=" | ")

Output:

Python | Java | C++

3. end (Ending Character)

By default, print() ends output with a newline (\n). The end parameter allows you to change this behavior.

Example:

print("Hello", end=" ")

print("World!")

Output:

Hello World!

Example Using a Special Character:

print("Python", end="...")

print("Rocks!")

Output:

Python…Rocks!

4. file (Redirect Output to a File)

By default, print() outputs to the console. The file parameter lets you write output to a file.

Example:

file = open("output.txt", "w")  # Open file in write mode

print("Hello, File!", file=file)

file.close()  # Close the file

Explanation:

• This writes “Hello, File!” into output.txt instead of printing it on the screen.

5. flush (Forcing Output to Appear Immediately)

By default, print() waits before sending output to the screen (buffering). The flush parameter can force immediate output.

Example:

import time

print("Loading", end="", flush=True)  # Print immediately

for _ in range(3):

    print(".", end="", flush=True)

    time.sleep(1)  # Wait for 1 second

Output (appears gradually on the screen):

Loading…

Complete Example Using All Parameters

print("Python", "Java", "C++", sep=" | ", end="!!!\n", flush=True)

Output:

Python | Java | C++!!!

Summary Table of print() Parameters

Escape Characters in Python

• Escape characters are special symbols in Python that allow you to format text inside strings.
• They start with a backslash (\) followed by a character.

Example:

print("line1 \n line2")  # Moves line2 to a new line

print("Python\tProgramming")  # Adds a tab space

print("This is a backslash: \\")  # Prints a backslash

print("She said, \"Python is fun!\"")  # Prints double quotes inside a string

Explanation:

• \n creates a new line, so “World” moves to the next line.
• \t adds a tab space between “Python” and “Programming”.
• \\ prints a backslash (\).
• \” allows double quotes inside a string without ending it early.

Output:

line1

line2

Python    Programming

This is a backslash: \

She said, “Python is fun!”

Comments in Python

• Comments are notes added to a program to explain what the code does.
• They are ignored by Python when the program runs.

Single-line Comment (#)

# This is a comment

print("Hello, Python!")  # This prints a message

Explanation:

• A comment starts with # and is ignored by Python.
• You can write a comment before or after a line of code to describe its purpose.

Output:

Hello, Python!

Multi-line Comment (“”” “”” or ”’ ”’)

• If you need a longer explanation, you can use triple quotes (“”” “”” or ”’ ”’) to create multi-line comments.
• “””
• This is a multi-line comment.
• It can span multiple lines.
• Python ignores this when running the program

print("Python is amazing!")

Explanation:

• Everything inside “”” “”” is treated as a comment.
• Multi-line comments are useful for writing detailed explanations or documentation.

Output:

Python is amazing!

Practice Task

Try running the following code and observe the output:

# This program prints a message

print("Welcome to Python!")

# Printing with escape characters

print("Learning\nPython\tis fun!")

# Using a comment

print("End of program!")  # This is the last line

Explanation:

• The first print() function displays “Welcome to Python!”.
• The second print() uses \n to create a new line and \t to add a tab space.
• The last print() function runs normally, while the comment after it is ignored by Python.