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Introduction to Python: Your First Program

Write a simple 'Hello, World!' program and set up a Python environment.

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By Laila Wulandari
BeginnerOpenSourcePython

Introduction to Python: Your First Program 🐍

Hey there! Ready to start your Python journey? Let's get you set up and running your first program. Don't worry - it's way easier than you think!

Getting Python on Your Computer

First things first - let's make sure Python is installed.

Windows Users:

  1. Head to python.org/downloads
  2. Download the latest version
  3. Important: Check the box that says "Add Python to PATH" during installation (don't skip this!)

Mac Users:

Good news - Python 3 usually comes already installed on your Mac!

Check if you have it by opening Terminal and typing:

python3 --version

No Python? No problem. Install it with Homebrew:

brew install python

Linux Users:

You probably already have Python installed. Check by typing:

python3 --version

Writing Your First Program

Alright, Python's installed. Now the fun part!

Open any text editor you like (VS Code, PyCharm, or even just Notepad - whatever works for you).

Create a new file called hello.py and type this in:

print("Hello, World!")

Save it, then open your terminal/command prompt in the same folder and run:

python hello.py

If you see this:

Hello, World!

You did it! You're officially a Python programmer now!

So What Just Happened?

That print() thing is a function - basically a command that tells Python "hey, show this on the screen."

Whatever you put inside those quotes gets displayed exactly as you typed it.

Try it:

print("Python is awesome!")

Output:

Python is awesome!

Things to Remember

  • Save before running - seems obvious but we all forget sometimes!
  • Indentation matters in Python - unlike other languages, spacing isn't just for looks
  • Experiment! Change the message, add more print statements, break stuff and fix it - that's how you learn

What's Coming Next?

You just crossed the biggest hurdle - actually running code! From here, you'll learn about variables, doing math, making decisions with if-else, and way more cool stuff.

The key is to keep playing around with it. Every programmer started exactly where you are right now. You've got this!