PYTHON INTRODUCTION

Python Programming Introduction

• Introduction to Python
• Applications of Python
• Advantages of Python
• Python Syntax
• Running Python Code

When I started coding the first language, I learned for coding was “C”. It is a great language but at the same time, it is quite difficult for beginners and also till now I think I cannot understand it properly. It is a very fast and old language which makes it very important especially for tasks where we need fast executions. But now to learn to code we have many other languages which are I think much easier to understand and write as compared to C or any other old programming language (here I mention I have no offense to those languages I only say that if you are not able to understand them then you must start with new more modern coding languages). Python is one such language that is easy to learn, write, and understand and in this blog, we learn the easy way to learn Python. Therefore, in this series of blogs, we shall learn about Python, its properties, libraries, functions, etc in other words we can say that it is an introduction to Python programming where Python programming for beginners is introduced.

We know that software is the core of the most of electronic tools we use in today's world. Almost everyone has any type of social media account through which they communicate, have internet connection in their phones, laptops, and PCs, and also most of the jobs include interaction with some sort of electronic device to do their work. It leads to the demand for coders to high.

This set of blogs is for everyone who want to learn Python basics or even who is an expert in Python or coding and tries to sharpen his/her coding ability or understand Python in more depth. These blogs aim to take the reader up to speed with Python so they can learn as quickly as possible. In other words, it is a free Python course.

Python

Python is a high-level programming language. It was developed by Guido van Rossum around 1991. It gains popularity because of its simplicity, readability, and versatility. The major steps in the development of Python are:

• Python 1.0: Python 1.0 is the very first version of Python it was introduced around January 1994.
• Python 2.0: Python 2.0 is the advanced version of Python 1.0. It was developed and introduced around October 2000. In this version we see the list comprehensions, garbage collection, and Unicode support.
• Python 3.0: The latest and most popular version of Python is Python 3, it was presented or introduced around December 2008. Now we use only this version to do our tasks. It was a significant milestone because it included some backward-incompatible changes which improved the language. Its main objective is to fix and enhance many aspects of the language, addressing design flaws and inconsistencies. 

Note: Python 2.x continued even after the introduction of Python 3 for many years. The Python software foundation responsible for Python development discontinued the support for Python 2 in January 2020.  

Where Python used

As we know Python is a versatile and widely used programming language. It has multiple uses across multiple domains or fields. Let’s look at some common areas or domains where we can use Python.

1. Python is a popular language for creating interactive web pages and online apps. some popular frameworks that use Python include Django, and Flask and some libraries are Scikit-Learn, TensorFlow, and PyTorch.
2. Data Science and Machine Learning: Python is one of the most used languages for data science and machine learning therefore it is mostly preferred by data scientists and machine learning engineers. Libraries like NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, and Scikit-Learn are widely utilized for tasks such as data analysis, data visualization, and machine learning. Therefore if you search on the internet, there are many time searches for machine learning Python available. We can also use Python for NLP we use NLP with Python to analyze text data and extract meaningful insights from natural language.
3. Among the many branches of AI, Python has also achieved remarkable development in computer vision, voice recognition, and natural language processing. PyTorch and TensorFlow are the two most famous and widely used Python libraries for Deep Learning.
4. Python has several technical and scientific applications in the field of computing. Libraries like as SciPy and SymPy are utilized by scientific communities for scientific computing and symbolic mathematics-related applications.
5. Python is a great programming language that is used for building scripts to simplify complicated workflows, automating repetitive operations, and system management.
6. Python is used in game development for both full-scale production and beginning prototyping. One prominent Python library for game development is Pygame.
7. Desktop applications using graphical user interfaces (GUIs): Python is commonly used to create GUIs for desktop applications. Python packages like wxPython, Tkinter, and PyQt are often used for this purpose.
8. Network Programming: Python finds application in network programming, encompassing tasks such as socket programming, building network serves, and working with protocols like HTTP and FTP.
9. Cybersecurity: Python is actively used in cybersecurity, contributing to activities such as penetration testing, scripting security tools, and developing applications geared towards enhancing security measures.
10. Educational Purpose: Python is commonly selected as a teaching language owing to its clear syntax and simplicity. Numerous educational institutions opt for Python to introduce fundamental programming concepts.
11. Python, being the server-side language for online applications, is extensively used for backend programming. It is common practice to use frameworks such as Flask and Django when creating backend solutions.
12. Automation, configuration management, and system administration are all crucial parts of DevOps processes, and Python is an essential tool for these parts.

Why Python?

Let’s look at some reasons why Python is widely chosen as a programming language:

1. Python is made to be incredibly portable and works with Windows, Mac, Linux, and even Raspberry Pi computers. This cross-platform functionality guarantees smooth operation of Python scripts in many settings. Hence its versatility for a large number of uses.
2. Clear and Simple Syntax: Developers may read, create, and comprehend Python code with ease because of its simple syntax, which is similar to that of English. Particularly for novices who find Python simpler to learn than languages with complicated syntax, its simplicity helps with quicker creation and maintenance.
3. Conciseness and Readability: When compared to certain other programming languages, Python's syntax enables developers to convey ideas in less lines of code. A collection of sayings known as the Zen of Python capture the focus on readability and stress the value of legible and unambiguous code.
4. Python is an interpreter language that allows code to be run right away once it is written. This quality makes prototyping faster, enabling the developer to test and refine their concepts fast. Code running interactively encourages a more flexible and dynamic development process.
5. Python offers procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming as well as other programming paradigms. Choosing the paradigm that best fits the needs of their project is made possible by this adaptability. Furthermore, it makes Python flexible about various coding patterns and project layouts.

Python attracts many people because it supports multi-platforms, and also it has simple and easy-to-understand syntax. It also has an interpreter means we don't need to write the whole program to check if it is working or not we can write the program in steps and check whether every step is correct or not. These are a few reasons why we use Python in many different fields and applications.

Python Syntax compared to other programming languages

Let’s look at the distinctive aspects of Python syntax in more detail compared to other programming languages.

• Readability and English-like Syntax: Readability is one of the fundamental design concepts of Python. The syntax is deliberately crafted to be unambiguous and easily comprehensible, prioritizing the minimization of symbols and unique characters. The readability is improved by a syntax that closely mimics the English language, thereby making it easier for developers to understand and use. This design choice contributes to Python’s ease of learning and understanding.
• New Lines as Command Delimiters: In Python, new lines are used to complete a command or statement. By comparison, a lot of other programming languages frequently utilize parentheses or semicolons to divide commands on the same line. Python code seems tidy and uncomplicated in part because it lacks obvious line-ending characters like semicolons.
• Indentation for Scope definition: Python utilizes indentation, or whitespace, to define the scope of various constructs, such as loops, functions, and classes. The level of indentation determines the block or score of code. Unlike many other programming languages, which often employ curly brackets ({}) to demarcate code blocks, this language takes a different approach. Python's utilization of indentation ensures a uniform and visually comprehensible layout of code.
• Influence from mathematics: Python’s syntax is influenced by mathematical notation, particularly in its use of colons and indentation to signify code blocks. This influence provides a clear and natural structure to Python code, aligning with the principles of readability and simplicity.
• Minimal use of symbols: Python tends to minimize the use of symbols and special characters in its syntax. This is in contrast to some other programming languages that may rely more heavily on symbols for various operations. The reduced dependence on symbols contributes to a cleaner and less cluttered appearance, aligning with the Pythonic emphasis on simplicity.

Running Snippets of Python code and running the first program Hello World

Python programming language comes with a preinstall interpreter that runs on the terminal window. It allows us to try bits of Python without saving the code and run the entire program. There is a belief in the programming community that printing Hello World! Message to the screen of our first program in any programming language will bring us luck in learning and advancing it. So, let’s write Hello World! Program in Python.

print("Hello world!")

As we can see in the above code to print the Hello World! In Python, we just need to write one line of code. We write this simple code as a first program in any programming language has a purpose it checks whether the program that we write is working well or not. If this program runs properly then any program which we write is correct will run in our system.