This is a Python beginner’s tutorial for absolute newbies, featuring the following. highlights:Completely free, zero prior experience required, with complete examples, and based on the latest Python 3 version.
Python is a computer programming language. You may have heard of many popular programming languages, such as the notoriously difficult C, the widely-used Java, the beginner-friendly BASIC, and JavaScript which is ideal for web programming, to name a few.
So what exactly is Python?
First, let’s cover some basics about programming languages. Developing programs in any programming language is essentially to make computers perform tasks—like downloading an MP3 file or editing a document. However, the CPU, which executes the tasks, only understands machine instructions. Thus, despite the huge differences between various programming languages, all of them must eventually be translated into machine instructions that CPUs can execute. Moreover, for the same task, the amount of code required varies drastically across different languages.
For instance, to complete the same task, you need 1.000 lines of code in C, 100 lines in Java, but only 20 lines in Python.
That’s why Python is considered a fairly high-level programming language.
You might wonder, isn’t fewer lines of code better? The trade-off for fewer lines is slower execution speed. A C program may take 1 second to run, a Java program 2 seconds, while a Python program might need 10 seconds.
Does this mean lower-level languages are harder to learn and higher-level ones are easier? On the surface, yes. But when it comes to highly abstract computing, advanced Python programming can be extremely challenging. So, a high-level language doesn’t equal simplicity.
Nevertheless, Python is incredibly simple and easy to use for beginners and everyday tasks. Even Google uses Python on a large scale, so you never have to worry about it being useless to learn.
What can you do with Python? It handles daily tasks, like automatically backing up your MP3 files; it builds websites—many renowned sites including YouTube are built with Python; it powers the backends of online games—numerous online games rely on Python for their backend development. In short, it’s capable of doing a vast range of things.
Of course, there are things Python isn’t suited for. For example, operating systems can only be written in C; mobile apps require Swift/Objective-C (for iPhones) and Java (for Android); 3D games are best developed with C or C++.
This tutorial is perfect for you if you’re an absolute newbie who meets these criteria:
You can use a computer but have never written any code before;
You still remember the equations and basic algebra you learned in middle school math;
You want to grow from a programming novice to a professional software architect;
You can spare 30 minutes every day for learning.
Don’t hesitate—this tutorial is tailor-made for you!
Ready to start?
