- The Python Tutorial¶
- Python For Beginners
- Installing
- Learning
- Looking for Something Specific?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Looking to Help?
- The PSF
- Python Tutorial
- Learning by Examples
- Example
- Python File Handling
- Python Database Handling
- Python Exercises
- Python Examples
- Python Quiz
- My Learning
- Python Reference
- Download Python
- Python Exam — Get Your Diploma!
- Kickstart your career
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The Python Tutorial¶
Python is an easy to learn, powerful programming language. It has efficient high-level data structures and a simple but effective approach to object-oriented programming. Python’s elegant syntax and dynamic typing, together with its interpreted nature, make it an ideal language for scripting and rapid application development in many areas on most platforms.
The Python interpreter and the extensive standard library are freely available in source or binary form for all major platforms from the Python web site, https://www.python.org/, and may be freely distributed. The same site also contains distributions of and pointers to many free third party Python modules, programs and tools, and additional documentation.
The Python interpreter is easily extended with new functions and data types implemented in C or C++ (or other languages callable from C). Python is also suitable as an extension language for customizable applications.
This tutorial introduces the reader informally to the basic concepts and features of the Python language and system. It helps to have a Python interpreter handy for hands-on experience, but all examples are self-contained, so the tutorial can be read off-line as well.
For a description of standard objects and modules, see The Python Standard Library . The Python Language Reference gives a more formal definition of the language. To write extensions in C or C++, read Extending and Embedding the Python Interpreter and Python/C API Reference Manual . There are also several books covering Python in depth.
This tutorial does not attempt to be comprehensive and cover every single feature, or even every commonly used feature. Instead, it introduces many of Python’s most noteworthy features, and will give you a good idea of the language’s flavor and style. After reading it, you will be able to read and write Python modules and programs, and you will be ready to learn more about the various Python library modules described in The Python Standard Library .
The Glossary is also worth going through.
- 1. Whetting Your Appetite
- 2. Using the Python Interpreter
- 2.1. Invoking the Interpreter
- 2.1.1. Argument Passing
- 2.1.2. Interactive Mode
- 2.2.1. Source Code Encoding
- 3.1. Using Python as a Calculator
- 3.1.1. Numbers
- 3.1.2. Text
- 3.1.3. Lists
- 4.1. if Statements
- 4.2. for Statements
- 4.3. The range() Function
- 4.4. break and continue Statements, and else Clauses on Loops
- 4.5. pass Statements
- 4.6. match Statements
- 4.7. Defining Functions
- 4.8. More on Defining Functions
- 4.8.1. Default Argument Values
- 4.8.2. Keyword Arguments
- 4.8.3. Special parameters
- 4.8.3.1. Positional-or-Keyword Arguments
- 4.8.3.2. Positional-Only Parameters
- 4.8.3.3. Keyword-Only Arguments
- 4.8.3.4. Function Examples
- 4.8.3.5. Recap
- 5.1. More on Lists
- 5.1.1. Using Lists as Stacks
- 5.1.2. Using Lists as Queues
- 5.1.3. List Comprehensions
- 5.1.4. Nested List Comprehensions
- 6.1. More on Modules
- 6.1.1. Executing modules as scripts
- 6.1.2. The Module Search Path
- 6.1.3. “Compiled” Python files
- 6.4.1. Importing * From a Package
- 6.4.2. Intra-package References
- 6.4.3. Packages in Multiple Directories
- 7.1. Fancier Output Formatting
- 7.1.1. Formatted String Literals
- 7.1.2. The String format() Method
- 7.1.3. Manual String Formatting
- 7.1.4. Old string formatting
- 7.2.1. Methods of File Objects
- 7.2.2. Saving structured data with json
- 8.1. Syntax Errors
- 8.2. Exceptions
- 8.3. Handling Exceptions
- 8.4. Raising Exceptions
- 8.5. Exception Chaining
- 8.6. User-defined Exceptions
- 8.7. Defining Clean-up Actions
- 8.8. Predefined Clean-up Actions
- 8.9. Raising and Handling Multiple Unrelated Exceptions
- 8.10. Enriching Exceptions with Notes
- 9.1. A Word About Names and Objects
- 9.2. Python Scopes and Namespaces
- 9.2.1. Scopes and Namespaces Example
- 9.3.1. Class Definition Syntax
- 9.3.2. Class Objects
- 9.3.3. Instance Objects
- 9.3.4. Method Objects
- 9.3.5. Class and Instance Variables
- 9.5.1. Multiple Inheritance
- 10.1. Operating System Interface
- 10.2. File Wildcards
- 10.3. Command Line Arguments
- 10.4. Error Output Redirection and Program Termination
- 10.5. String Pattern Matching
- 10.6. Mathematics
- 10.7. Internet Access
- 10.8. Dates and Times
- 10.9. Data Compression
- 10.10. Performance Measurement
- 10.11. Quality Control
- 10.12. Batteries Included
- 11.1. Output Formatting
- 11.2. Templating
- 11.3. Working with Binary Data Record Layouts
- 11.4. Multi-threading
- 11.5. Logging
- 11.6. Weak References
- 11.7. Tools for Working with Lists
- 11.8. Decimal Floating Point Arithmetic
- 12.1. Introduction
- 12.2. Creating Virtual Environments
- 12.3. Managing Packages with pip
- 14.1. Tab Completion and History Editing
- 14.2. Alternatives to the Interactive Interpreter
- 15.1. Representation Error
- 16.1. Interactive Mode
- 16.1.1. Error Handling
- 16.1.2. Executable Python Scripts
- 16.1.3. The Interactive Startup File
- 16.1.4. The Customization Modules
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 (whatever it may be) can pick up Python very quickly. It’s also 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 (notably those from HP) now come with Python already installed. If you do need to install Python and aren’t confident about the task you can find a few notes on the BeginnersGuide/Download wiki page, 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 you might find helpful.
There is a list of tutorials suitable for experienced programmers on the BeginnersGuide/Tutorials page. There is also a list of resources in other languages which might be useful if English is not your first language.
The online documentation is your first port of call for definitive information. There is a fairly brief tutorial that gives you basic information about the language and gets you started. You can follow this by looking at the library reference for a full description of Python’s many libraries and the language reference for a complete (though somewhat dry) explanation of Python’s syntax. If you are looking for common Python recipes and patterns, you can browse the ActiveState 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 you may well get the result you need. If all else fails, ask on the python newsgroup and there’s a good chance someone will put you on the right track.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question, it’s a good idea to try the FAQ, which answers the most commonly asked questions about Python.
Looking to Help?
If you want to help to develop Python, take a look at the developer area for further information. Please note that you don’t have to be an expert programmer to help. The documentation is just as important as the compiler, and still needs plenty of work!
The PSF
The Python Software Foundation is the organization behind Python. Become a member of the PSF and help advance the software and our mission.
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Python Tutorial
Python can be used on a server to create web applications.
Learning by Examples
With our «Try it Yourself» editor, you can edit Python code and view the result.
Example
Click on the «Try it Yourself» button to see how it works.
Python File Handling
In our File Handling section you will learn how to open, read, write, and delete files.
Python Database Handling
In our database section you will learn how to access and work with MySQL and MongoDB databases:
Python Exercises
Python Examples
Learn by examples! This tutorial supplements all explanations with clarifying examples.
Python Quiz
Test your Python skills with a quiz.
My Learning
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Python Reference
You will also find complete function and method references:
Download Python
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- 2.1. Invoking the Interpreter
