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.
Python Jobs
Today, Python is very high in demand and all the major companies are looking for great Python Programmers to develop websites, software components, and applications or to work with Data Science, AI, and ML technologies. When we are developing this tutorial in 2022, there is a high shortage of Python Programmers where as market demands more number of Python Programmers due to it's application in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence etc.
Today a Python Programmer with 3-5 years of experience is asking for around $150,000 annual package and this is the most demanding programming language in America. Though it can vary depending on the location of the Job. It's impossible to list all of the companies using Python, to name a few big companies are:
- Intel
- NASA
- PayPal
- IBM
- Amazon
- Netflix
- Uber
- Many more...
So, you could be the next potential employee for any of these major companies. We have developed a great learning material for you to learn Python Programming which will help you prepare for the technical interviews and certification exams based on Python. So, start learning Python using this simple and effective tutorial from anywhere and anytime absolutely at your pace.
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 which makes Python as the top choice of any programmer:
- Python is Open Source which means its 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 include AI, ML etc.
- Python is much in demand and ensures high salary
Python is a MUST for students and working professionals to become a great Software Engineer specially when they are working in 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.
Python Online Compiler/Interpreter
We have provided Python Online Compiler/Interpreter which helps you to Edit and Execute the code directly from your browser. Try to click the icon 
to run the following Python code to print conventional "Hello, World!".
# This is my first Python program. # This will print 'Hello, World!' as the output print ("Hello, World!");
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
- Full-stack developer
- Machine learning engineer
- Data scientist
- Data analyst
- Data engineer
- DevOps engineer
- Software engineer
- Many more other roles
Characteristics of Python
Following are important characteristics of Python Programming −
- 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
The latest release of Python is 3.x. As mentioned before, Python is one of the most widely used language over the web. I'm going to list few of them here:
- 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 which 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.
Target Audience
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
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.
History of Python
Python was developed by Guido van Rossum in the late eighties and early nineties at the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands.
Python is derived from many other languages, including ABC, Modula-3, C, C++, Algol-68, SmallTalk, and Unix shell and other scripting languages.
Python is copyrighted. Like Perl, Python source code is now available under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
For many uninitiated people, the word Python is related to a species of snake. Rossum though attributes the choice of the name Python to a popular comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus on BBC.
Being the principal architect of Python, the developer community conferred upon him the title of Benevolent Dictator for Life (BDFL). However, in 2018, Rossum relinquished the title. Thereafter, the development and distribution of the reference implementation of Python is handled by a nonprofit organization Python Software Foundation.
Who Invented Python?
Python was invented by a Dutch Programmer Guido Van Rossum in the late 1980s. And, Python's first version (0.9.0) was released in 1991.
Evolution of Python – The Major Python Releases
Following are the important stages in the history of Python −
Python 0.9.0
Python's first published version is 0.9. It was released in February 1991. It consisted of support for core object-oriented programming principles.
Python 1.0
In January 1994, version 1.0 was released, armed with functional programming tools, features like support for complex numbers etc.
Python 2.0
Next major version − Python 2.0 was launched in October 2000. Many new features such as list comprehension, garbage collection and Unicode support were included with it.
Python 3.0
Python 3.0, a completely revamped version of Python was released in December 2008. The primary objective of this revamp was to remove a lot of discrepancies that had crept in Python 2.x versions. Python 3 was backported to Python 2.6. It also included a utility named as python2to3 to facilitate automatic translation of Python 2 code to Python 3.
EOL for Python 2.x
Even after the release of Python 3, Python Software Foundation continued to support the Python 2 branch with incremental micro versions till 2019. However, it decided to discontinue the support by the end of year 2020, at which time Python 2.7.17 was the last version in the branch.
Current Version of Python
Meanwhile, more and more features have been incorporated into Python's 3.x branch. As of date, Python 3.11.2 is the current stable version, released in February 2023.
What's New in Python 3.11?
One of the most important features of Python's version 3.11 is the significant improvement in speed. According to Python's official documentation, this version is faster than the previous version (3.10) by up to 60%. It also states that the standard benchmark suite shows a 25% faster execution rate.
- Python
3.11 has a better exception messaging. Instead of generating a long
traceback on the occurrence of an exception, we now get the exact
expression causing the error.
- As per the recommendations of PEP 678, the add_note() method is added to the BaseException class. You can call this method inside the except clause and pass a custom error message.
- It also adds the cbroot() function in the maths module. It returns the cube root of a given number.
- A new module tomllib is added in the standard library. TOML (Tom's Obvious Minimal Language) can be parsed with tomlib module function.