Setting Up Your First Python Script
Alright, you've installed Python, survived the Version Wars (Python 3 FTW), and now you’re staring at your screen thinking:
“So uh… what do I do with this thing?”
Well, my curious code wizard, it’s time to write your first Python script — a digital “Hello!” from your computer to the world. Or maybe a sarcastic one. We don't judge.
Step 1: Open a Text Editor (No, Not MS Word 😬)
You need something simple but code-friendly:
- 🟢 VS Code (fancy and smart)
- 🟡 Sublime Text (quick and slick)
- 🔵 Notepad++ (for Windows purists)
- 🔴 Nano/Vim (for terminal ninjas)
Or if you’re feeling wild:
Yes, even plain old Notepad can work… just don’t let any senior devs see you doing it.
Step 2: Create a New File
- Make a new file and call it:
hello.py
Why .py
? Because it tells your computer,
“Hey, I’m about to get Pythonic up in here.”
Step 3: Type Your First Spell
Inside hello.py
, type this:
print("Hello, world!")
This is the programming equivalent of learning to wave your wand and not poking your own eye out.
Save the file. Yes, that’s important. We’ve all run a blank script before and questioned our life.
Step 4: Run That Baby!
Open your terminal or command prompt.
Navigate to where your hello.py
file lives:
cd path/to/your/file
Now run it:
Windows:
python hello.py
macOS / Linux:
python3 hello.py
Output:
Hello, world!
🎉 Ta-da! You’ve written your first Python script. You officially made a machine say hello without using ChatGPT.
But... What Just Happened?
The print()
function tells Python to show something on the screen. Like a megaphone, but with less yelling and more code.
You can also try:
print("My name is Kahnu and I'm cooler than semicolons.")
print(42)
print("2 + 2 =", 2 + 2)
Python’s chill like that — it just rolls with whatever you give it.
Bonus: The Mistake Everyone Makes
If you accidentally write:
print "Hello"
Python 3 will scream at you like:
SyntaxError: Missing parentheses in call to 'print'
That’s Python’s polite way of saying:
“Nice try, but this isn’t Python 2. Get modern.”