Lesson 2
The Basic Elements
Chapter 3: Running Python
Running Python
There are several ways to use the Python interpreter.
- Interactively (useful for quick testing and experiments)
- Run the code (useful for larger chunk of codes)
- Using an IDE (useful for large projects)
We will discuss these in the next few pages.
Whenever my example says run python
, you should replace it with the appropriate python installation for your machine. It could be one of these:
python
python3
python3.12
Whenever I say ‘command line’ or ‘terminal’, use the appropriate application for your operating system.
- For Windows, this could be PowerShell, Command Prompt or a WSL2 command line terminal.
- For macOS and Linux/UNIX, this would be ‘Terminal’ or
bash
.
You likely will need to use command lines a lot for your degree. If you need an introduction to command lines, see this tutorial: Introduction to the command-line interface. MSc AI students will get an introduction to Linux Shell commands during your orientation in your first week.