Before we start learning to program in Python we need to do a few things to be able to use it. The first thing we can do is check if we have it installed. If you use Linux open your terminal; if you have Windows open the command prompt (you can search for CMD) and run the following command:

python --version

or you can also run:

python3 --version

If your terminal shows a message like:

Python 3.7.4

Then it means you have it installed. If you get an error, don't feel bad—we just need to install it 😊.

Very important! The version we need to use is Python 3

Install Python on Windows

You just need to download the installer from here

When installing, it's important that you select custom installation and check all the boxes so your installation is complete.

Install Python on Debian, Ubuntu and Linux Mint

First you need to update your packages with:

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install software-properties-common

Add this repository to your list so you can install Python later:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa

Update your packages again and finally install Python:

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install python3.7

Install Python on Fedora

Just run the following command in your terminal as administrator:

$ sudo dnf install python3

To check if your installation is correct you just need to run the same command from the beginning again and see that it doesn't show errors:

python --version

Choose an IDE

Finally you need an IDE to program your Python scripts. I personally prefer Visual Studio Code, but here are some alternatives so you can start writing your first programs:

• Atom
• PyCharm
• Sublime Text