Python – programming environment and additional programs

When you have installed Python, the question arises – how to start learning this language? Should I write commands through the console or do I need to install something else on the computer? There are many programming environments and solutions for Python, but for a beginner, it is preferable to choose from two:

  • if you are learning Python for scientific purposes, then download Anaconda from www.continuum.io/downloads – this environment already includes Python, as well as such useful programs for programming and analytics as Spyder, Jupyter, IPython, R and others.

  • you are learning Python for general development, then install the cool Sublime Text code editor from sublimetext.com; in this case, you will need to manually configure the Python interpreter to run the program written in this editor.

How to set up a Python interpreter on a computer manually?

  • go to the folder where Python is installed and rename the Python.exe startup file to python.exe (in small letters);

  • Copy the path to this file on your computer in the form D:User……python.exe;

  • Open Sublime Text, select Tools ->Build System->New Build System from the menu (you can try choosing Python, but sometimes it doesn’t work, so it’s better to set it up manually);

  • You will see an empty view system

{

“shell_cmd”: “make”

}

You need to copy and paste the following code instead (put a double backslash in the path to the python.exe file):

{

“cmd”: [“D:\Users\…\python.exe”, “-i”, “-u”, “$file”],

“file_regex”: “^[ ]File ”(…?)”, line ([0-9]*)”,

“selector”: “source.python”

}

Save as Python.sublime-build or any meaningful name instead of Python in the …SublimeText3/Packages/User folder

Now, if you are using Sublime Text, you can make a new Python file:

  • Click Save as and go to the desktop or another folder where you want to save the code file;

  • Come up with a name, for example, Kod;

    Add the .py extension after the name

This is your Python file. Now we need to activate the Python interpreter that we set via Python.sublime-build: go to Tools->Build System->Python (the second one you created yourself).

You can check the success of the interpreter setup like this:

import sys

print(sys.version)

To run the code in Sublime Text press Ctrl+B (this is Build):