News about the dynamic, interpreted, interactive, object-oriented, extensible programming language Python If you are about to ask a 'how do I do this in python' question, please try, or the #python IRC channel on FreeNode. Please don't use URL shorteners. Reddit filters them out, so your post or comment will be lost. For college we have to learn python. Therefore we need to install python on our computer. I have a mac, but I'm pretty sure everybody else will work on a PC.
I do not have any experience with python whatsoever, so this is why I have to ask; is there a big difference (if any) between the mac and pc version of python? This is the version of python we'll be working with: I'm thinking interface-related stuff, since our exam will probably be on windows. I need to ba able to switch fast between the two versions. So, ultimately: do I install python on my mac or on my dual boot windows partition?
How to run a Python script¶. Your best way to get started with Python on Mac OS X is through the IDLE integrated development environment, see section The IDE and use the Help menu when the IDE is running. Jul 6, 2018 - Tutorial on how to install and download Python 3 on Mac OS X. Homebrew depends on Apple's Xcode package, so run the following command to install it. It's a best practice to keep all your virtualenvs in one place,.
Thank you EDIT: I've just learned python isn't a program but a language which you have to install. I was thinking about a program; turns out these are called IDEs (yes, I'm really new to this stuff:p ). It looks like they are pretty much equal on all platforms.
EDIT 2: I've found this list of things to install for Mac (I have yet to understand what they are and what they do, but maybe you guys can make something of it): 32-bit Python 2.7 Numpy Scipy Matplotlib Pygame As for the IDEs for Mac OSx: Spyder (default of the course), however the TA's recommend PyCharm (it isn't free though). I teach a class in Python and allow students to use any OS. Generally the.NIX folks have by far the easiest time, followed by Windows and Mac. This isn't really a reflection on the quality of the OSs (at least not directly) but the level of support they receive. Most versions of Linux come with a recent version of Python already installed and it's usually very simple to download newer versions and install plugins and updates.
Windows itself is kind of ugly in it's behavior, but there's plenty of support. I generally recommend portable python for Windows, because it can be run just about everywhere, and comes with some nice editors and modules built in.
(The problem in Windows is that the best Python editors normally require WXWidgets, which is a non-trivial installation in Windows.) With the portable solution, we bypass all that. Macs (being based on Unix) usually have a form of Python already installed, but it's often out of date. My six-month old MacBook Pro has Python2.7 installed by default with TkInter, so it's fine. On the Mac, it can be terribly painful to install add-in libraries, particularly PyGame. If your class uses standard built-in modules and Python 2.7, you're probably fine.
If you need any extensions, you may have trouble. I tell my Mac students to go to the library or use one of our other labs when they want to use Pygame.
(I also have a bunch of Linux laptops I loan out when a student can't get things installed on his or her own machine. Not all professors do that.) Note there are significant (if not difficult) differences in the syntax between the Python 2. and 3. versions.
If your examples are written in 2. syntax, you'll be confused with 3. The primary differences will be the lab documentation for the course, if they are designed for windows then you'll have to determine how to manipulate the operating system in a similar way. Otherwise, using pip and homebrew is a highly enjoyable way to retrieve python packages and libraries. I've not used those IDEs, I primarily use vim (installed with homebrew) or more recently sublimetext2. I write python for employment and I've never used an IDE for python.
Not saying you should learn vim or emacs, but mostly that you do not need an IDE to write software; I'd argue that it would obfuscate the act of learning to write software. Although to be fair my workplace is all scientific linux. Pip/homebrew is really no different than pip/yum (I like homebrew quite a lot more than yum actually).
I'd suggest that at this stage you at least have what the grader would run your programs on. Even if you don't work on that, before turning in work you should probably run a program in that to be confident. Back when I was in school I did all linux work (testing that a few of the more complicated items compiled in Windows still), even though the professors and many others used windows.
But generally speaking, python is highly portable and most major libraries have taken care of the weird things between systems, so you'd be fairly safe in your list to work wherever you prefer.
News about the dynamic, interpreted, interactive, object-oriented, extensible programming language Python If you are about to ask a 'how do I do this in python' question, please try, or the #python IRC channel on FreeNode. Please don't use URL shorteners. Reddit filters them out, so your post or comment will be lost. It looks to me like your post might be better suited for, a sub geared towards questions and learning more about python.
That said, I am a bot and it is hard to tell. I highly recommend posting your question there. Please follow the subs rules and guidelines when you do post there, it'll help you get better answers faster. Show the code you have tried and describe where you are stuck. And include which version of python and what OS you are using. You can also ask this question in the discord:, a large, friendly community focused around the Python programming language, open to those who wish to learn the language or improve their skills, as well as those looking to help others. this bot is written and managed by This bot is currently under development and experiencing changes to improve its usefulness.