Python Tutorial for Beginners | Learn Python Programming Language

Updated on August 5, 2024

Article Outline

Python, a high-level versatile programming language, was created by Guido van Rossum in 1991. Its simplicity and readability set it apart, making it an ideal choice for beginners and advanced users alike. Python’s popularity is further bolstered by its extensive use in diverse fields such as data science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and web development.

Python is a very popular programming language. Let’s explore why Python is such a popular programming language.

 

  • Simplicity and Readability: The syntax of the Python programming language is very easy to understand and readable for beginners. It has a similar structure to the English language. Python is a free-to-use language. It has large packages and libraries.
  • Community and Support: Python has a large, active community of developers worldwide. This community includes many developers of skill levels. These developers provide easy access to documentation, guides, tutorials, and their own packages.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility: Python is platform-independent programming, which means code written in the Python programming language can run any operating system, such as Windows, Linux, MacOS, etc. This makes Python very attractive for developers.
  • Libraries and Frameworks: The Python language has a rich ecosystem of libraries and frameworks. The following frameworks are very popular in libraries and frameworks: Django and Flask are popular frameworks in Python language for web development. Some popular libraries are NumPy, pandas, and matplotlib. These libraries are widely used in data analysis and scientific computing.
  • Versatility: Python is versatile because it is used in various fields, such as data science and artificial Intelligence, web development, software development, and hacking.
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History of Python

Python is a general-purpose and widely used programming language. It was initially developed by Guido van Rossum in 1991 and further developed by the Python Software Foundation. Guido van Rossum started working in December 1989 at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands. He started working on this project as a Hobby because he was looking for an interesting project for Christmas. This project was inspired by ABC, a programming language he had worked on previously. The first version released of Python was Python 0.90 in February 1991. The first version of the Python project includes exception handling and functions.

How Does Python Work?

Python is an interpreted programming language. It means python programming language converts source code into a bytecode.

 

For example, Write a Python program in the hello.py file. Then, type the following command in your terminal or command prompt: “python hello.py.” This command runs the Python interpreter, which converts the hello.py file into the bytecode that our computer runs.

Writing Your First Program in Python

In this section, we will write a simple Python program that prints the numbers 1 to 10 using a for loop.

 

The demonstration of the following program is below.

 

Source Code: for num in range(10): print(num)

 

Output 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

 

Features of Python

In this section, we will examine the benefits of the Python programming language. It has many features, some of which are the most popular.

 

  • Free and Open Source: The Python language is an open-source project. This means anyone can use and download Python on their computer system from the official website.
  • Easy to Code: Python’s syntax is very similar to that of English, so anyone can learn Python programming easily and write code.
  • Object-Oriented Programming: The Python language is object-oriented, which means it supports the four principles of object-oriented programming: Encapsulation, Inheritance, Polymorphism, and Abstraction.
  • Python is a Portable Language. In the Python language, you can write code and run any operating system.
  • Python is an integrated language. This means we can easily integrate it with other languages, such as C, C++, etc.
  • Interpreted Language: Python is an interpreted programming language, which means it runs the code line by line, like other interpreted programming languages, such as C, C++, Java, etc.

Where is Python Used?

Python is a versatile programming language. This means that it can be used in various fields, such as web development, data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, task automation, etc.  The most commonly used Python web development, task automation,

 

  • Task Automation or scripting: If you perform the same task repeatedly, you can use the Python language. In programming, automation can be used for various purposes, like sending multiple HTTP requests to the server, creating folders in your computer system, and much more.
  • Web Development: Python is often used in the back-end development of websites or applications. Many frameworks, such as Flask and Django, are available in Python for this purpose.
  • Artificial Intelligence: Python is also used in Artificial Intelligence to train AI Models because It has a simpler syntax, is simple, and can be quickly learned.
  • Search Engine Optimisation(SEO): Python also helps the SEO professional automate some tasks. It assists them in analysing large chunks of data. It can extract the data from the website.

 

Also Read:  Why Python is Good for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Some popular frameworks exist in the Python language. Here, I am discussing some common frameworks and libraries.

 

  • Web Development (Server Side): Django, Flask, Pyramid, CherryPy
  • GUIs Based applications: Tkinter, PyGTK, PyQt, PyJs, etc
  • Machine Learning: TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, Matplotlib, Scipy etc.
  • Mathematics: Numpy, Pandas, etc.
  • Requests: A library for making HTTP requests.
  • SQLAlchemy: This library works with SQL Databases.
  • FAST API: It is used for building APIs
  • NLTK: This library is used in NLP (Natural Language Processing)
  • Pygame: It is a game development library.
  • Streamlit: This library is used for building interactive web apps for machine learning and data science.
  • BeautifulSoup: This library for web scraping and parsing HTML and XML.

There are some common applications of the Python programming language:

 

  • GUI-based desktop applications: Python programming language is also used for developing Graphical user Interface (GUI) applications.
  • Web Frameworks and Applications: Python has some popular frameworks, like Django and Flask. These frameworks are used for writing backend code in Python.
  • Operating System: Python is also used for developing operating systems and system tools.
  • Language development: Python language also used for developing new programming languages.
  • Scripting: Python is widely used for writing scripts to automate some tasks. 

Python vs. Other Programming Languages

The following table gives you a comparison of Python language with other programming languages, C, C++, and Java, in table format.

 

Features Python C C++ Java
Type Interpreted Compiled Compiled Compiled
Program OOP language Procedural structured OOP language OOP Language
Syntax Simple Complex Complex Complex
Popularity High High High High
Use Cases In web development, Artificial Intelligence System programming, embedded systems, game development System Programming, game development, high performance Large-scale applications, enterprise software
Frameworks/ Libraries Django, Flask, FAST API Standard  Library Standard Library, Boost Spring, Hibernate
Community Active Community Active Community Active Community Active Community

Python 2 Vs. Python 3

In this section, we will see the difference between python2 and python3. The following table gives you some common differences between python2 and python3.

 

In Python 3, we will get the float number if we divide two numbers in Python 3

 

Setting Up Python

Python is easy to install compared to Java or another programming language. Follow the following steps to install Python on your computer system.

 

  Step 1: Download the Python Interpreter from the official Python website

  Step 2: Install the interpreter in your computer system.

 Step 3: Install the Python IDE or Visual Studio to create a Python Project.

 Step 4: Create a new Project and write the code over the file.

Python Input/Output

Input and output are fundamental concepts in the Python language. They are used to get user input from the keyboard and print the result on the computer screen. It is crucial to learn about Python input and output. There is a print() function that prints the output on the computer screen.

 

  • Print print() function
  • f-string in Python
  • Print without newline in Python
  • Python | Output formatting
  • Taking Input from the User
  • Taking Multiple Input from the User in Python

Python Variables

Variables are developer-defined keywords for storing data values. It is similar to other programming languages, such as Java, Python, and JavaScript. Variables are created before being used. In this section, we will see simple variable declarations in Python.

 

Program

x = 20

print(x)

 

Python Numbers

The number is a type of Python. It is a category of numeric type in the Python language. Python supports various types of numbers, including integers, floating-point numbers, and complex numbers. Knowing the number type is essential for working with different types of numbers in Python.

 

  • Python Integer
  • Python Float
  • Python Complex
  • Type Conversion in Python
  • Decimal Number in Python

Data types represent the type of data that is stored in the variable. Python developers must know the type of data that will be stored in the variable. Python has a rich set of data types, such as numeric, sequence types, mapping, etc.

 

  • String Data type
  • Numeric Type
  • Sequence Type
  • Mapping Type
  • Set Types
  • Boolean Types
  • Binary Types
  • None Type

Python Operators

Operators are the standard symbols in the Python language for performing logical and relational operations. There are six types of operators in the Python language: arithmetic Operators, comparison operators, logical operators, bitwise operators, and so on. Here’s the list of the Python operators.

  • Arithmetic Operators
  • Assignment Operators
  • Comparison Operators
  • Logical Operators
  • Bitwise Operators
  • Special Operators

Python File Handling

In this section, we will discuss file handling in Python. Python file handling is a powerful feature that allows us to create, read, and update files. It has many built-in methods for handling files. We can open an existing file using the file open method, which is an inbuilt method in the Python language, and we can also close that file using the Python file close method.

 

  • Opening and Closing Files in Python
  • How to read from a File in Python?
  • Writing to File in Python
  • Delete a File in Python
  • With Statement in Python

Python Conditional Statement

Other languages, including Python, also support conditional statements. Conditional statements provide a choice for the control flow based on a specific condition, which means we can decide the outcome based on the condition.

 

  • If statement
  • If-else statement
  • If-else-else statement
  • Ternary Expression Conditional Statement in Python

Data structures are a way to organise data efficiently and access it easily. They are a fundamental concept for any programming language. In Python, there are many inbuilt data structures available to store and manage your data easily and efficiently. Each inbuilt data structure has its own advantages and disadvantages.

 

  • List Data Structure
  • Python Dictionary
  • Python Tuples
  • Python Set
  • Python Frozen Sets
  • Python String
  • Python bytearray

Functions are codes of blocks where we define the reusable code. They perform specific tasks, allow you to break down the problem into smaller parts, and are more manageable. A function only calls when you want to call it, and it can accept parameters.

 

  • User-defined functions
  • Built-in functions

Python Flow Control

In Python, control flow is the order in which function calls, instructions, and individual statements are evaluated or executed. The control flow of a Python program is regulated by various types:

 

  • Conditional statements
  • Loops
  • Function calls

Python Loops

In this section, we will discuss Python loops. Loops are control statements that repeat the code until the loop condition is false. There are two loops in a Python programming language: for loops and while loops. There are also some statement works with loops, such as continue, break, and pass.

 

  • For Loop
  • While Loop
  • Loop Control Statements (break, continue, pass)

Python Strings

A string is a sequence of characters. It is the most popular data type in the Python language. In simple words, a string is nothing but an array of characters. But the computer cannot understand the characters. So, it converts the characters into a number that the computer language can understand. This conversion is known as encoding, ASCII, and  Unicode.

 

  • String Slicing in Python
  • Python String Methods
  • String Formatting in Python

Python Exception Handling

In this section, we will see how Python handles unexpected errors while running the program. It enables the developer to write robust and versatile programs. By handling exceptions, we can also handle the error while opening and reading the file in Python. There are user-defined exceptions, and Python’s built-in exceptions are also available.

Python is an object-oriented programming language with four principles. By Understanding OOP concepts, programmers can leverage Python’s capabilities to design and find efficient solutions to complex problems.

 

Python Collections

Python collection is a module in the Python language used to store data such as lists, dicts, sets, and tuples. It provides a different type of container. A container is an object used to store different data structures such as lists, tuples, dictionaries, etc.

 

  • Counters
  • OrderedDict
  • DefaultDict
  • ChainMap
  • NamedTuple
  • DeQue
  • UserDict
  • UserList
  • UserString

Python Database Handling

One of the best things about the Python language is that it can be connected with both SQL databases and NO-SQL databases. For example:

 

  • Python MongoDB
  • Python MySQL

Pros and Cons of Python

The following table describes the pros and cons of Python language:

 

Python can be interrogated by another

programming language.

Python Latest & Upcoming Features

Python 3.12 was released in October 2023. In this section, we will mention all the features that Python offers us.

 

  • Security Fix: Python security patch on some potential vulnerabilities (details are not publicly disclosed).
  • SBOM(Software Bill of Materials) Documents: Provide the SBOM  documents for CPython, improving transparency in the software supply chain.

Expected Upcoming Features of Python 3.13

  • Improved Modules: In Python 3.13, Python will improve some existing modules such as argaprase, array, ast, and so on.
  • Improved Exceptions Groups(PEP 653): This improvement will organise the group-related exceptions, making error handling.

Conclusion

The Python language is used in various fields, such as web development, artificial intelligence, data science, and task automation. It is an Object-Oriented Programming language (OOP), which means that Python supports the four principles of Inheritance, Encapsulation, Polymorphism, and Abstraction. Python programming language contains a wide range of libraries and frameworks, and it works on almost all operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, MacOS, and so on. To explore Python in detail, check out the Accelerator Program in Business Analytics and Data Science.

 

Feature Python 2 Python 3
Print Statement Syntax In Python 2, we can use the print function without the parenthesis function. In python 3, the print() function has parenthesis before using this function.
Unicode Support Python 2 required additional modules for Unicode Python 3 provides better support as compared to Python 2 for Unicode support
Backward Compatibility You have to modify the Python 2 code for running in Python 3 Python 3 is not backwards compatible with the Python 2 version
Division Result In Python 2, when we divide two numbers, It will return an integer
Pros Cons
Python is a very beginner-friendly language. It means anyone can learn Python easily. Python is an interpreted programming language. It means Python is very slow compared to other compiled languages.
Python has a big bunch of libraries and frameworks. That makes Python a robust programming language Python is less secure because It is a dynamic programming language as compared to other programming languages.
We cannot create mobile apps using the Python Language.
Python is a very scalable language. It means, It can handle large data programs. Python is a high-memory consumption language so it is not good for highly intensive tasks which require high memory.
FAQs
Beginners can learn Python programming language. It will be an entry point for a beginner in the Python language because Python is a very simple language similar to the English language.
Python developers are highly versatile programmers. This means they can work with any environment using the Python language. Python is used in various fields, so it is a good programming language.
Yes, Anyone can learn the Python programming language without any programming experience. It is very easy to learn.
Python is a widely used language. Its syntax is easy to learn and very similar to that of the English language, So It is a good place to start learning programming.

Updated on August 5, 2024

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