Download Python Mac Command Line

See full list on datacamp.com. To access the command line, open the Start Menu via clicking the Start Button, lower left of the screen. Scroll the left side all the way down to Windows System - click the icon and sub menu items pop in, select Command Prompt with the black icon. Unlike the Python app noted in the previous page, the Command Prompt does not put you in a REPL.

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Install Python 3 on MacOS. Historically MacOS came preinstalled with Python 2, however starting with Mac 10.15 (released in October 2019) this is no longer the case.And since Python 2 will no longer be officially supported as of January 1, 2020, you should really use Python 3 instead. There are multiple ways to install Python 3 on a MacOS computer. Doing it Right¶. Let’s install a real version of Python. Before installing Python, you’ll need to install GCC. GCC can be obtained by downloading Xcode, the smaller Command Line Tools (must have an Apple account) or the even smaller OSX-GCC-Installer package. Jul 11, 2017 Open a new command prompt (the environmental variables refresh with each new command prompt you open), and type “python3 –version”. You can now use the “python” command at the Command Prompt when you want to use Python 2.7 and the “python3” command when you want to use Python 3.

The following is a step-by-step guide for beginners interested in learning Python using Windows 10.

Set up your development environment

  1. To verify the authenticity of the download, grab both files and then run this command: gpg -verify Python-3.6.2.tgz.asc Note that you must use the name of the signature file, and you should use the one that's appropriate to the download you're verifying. (These instructions are geared to GnuPG and Unix command-line users.) Other Useful Items.
  2. Installing Python 3 on Mac OS X¶ Mac OS X comes with Python 2.7 out of the box. GCC can be obtained by downloading Xcode, the smaller Command Line Tools (must have an Apple account) or the even smaller OSX-GCC-Installer package. If you already have Xcode installed, do not install OSX-GCC-Installer. In combination, the software can.

For beginners who are new to Python, we recommend you install Python from the Microsoft Store. Installing via the Microsoft Store uses the basic Python3 interpreter, but handles set up of your PATH settings for the current user (avoiding the need for admin access), in addition to providing automatic updates. This is especially helpful if you are in an educational environment or a part of an organization that restricts permissions or administrative access on your machine.

If you are using Python on Windows for web development, we recommend a different set up for your development environment. Rather than installing directly on Windows, we recommend installing and using Python via the Windows Subsystem for Linux. For help, see: Get started using Python for web development on Windows. If you're interested in automating common tasks on your operating system, see our guide: Get started using Python on Windows for scripting and automation. For some advanced scenarios (like needing to access/modify Python's installed files, make copies of binaries, or use Python DLLs directly), you may want to consider downloading a specific Python release directly from python.org or consider installing an alternative, such as Anaconda, Jython, PyPy, WinPython, IronPython, etc. We only recommend this if you are a more advanced Python programmer with a specific reason for choosing an alternative implementation.

Install Python

To install Python using the Microsoft Store:

  1. Go to your Start menu (lower left Windows icon), type 'Microsoft Store', select the link to open the store.

  2. Once the store is open, select Search from the upper-right menu and enter 'Python'. Open 'Python 3.7' from the results under Apps. Select Get.

  3. Once Python has completed the downloading and installation process, open Windows PowerShell using the Start menu (lower left Windows icon). Once PowerShell is open, enter Python --version to confirm that Python3 has installed on your machine.

  4. The Microsoft Store installation of Python includes pip, the standard package manager. Pip allows you to install and manage additional packages that are not part of the Python standard library. To confirm that you also have pip available to install and manage packages, enter pip --version.

Install Visual Studio Code

By using VS Code as your text editor / integrated development environment (IDE), you can take advantage of IntelliSense (a code completion aid), Linting (helps avoid making errors in your code), Debug support (helps you find errors in your code after you run it), Code snippets (templates for small reusable code blocks), and Unit testing (testing your code's interface with different types of input).

VS Code also contains a built-in terminal that enables you to open a Python command line with Windows Command prompt, PowerShell, or whatever you prefer, establishing a seamless workflow between your code editor and command line.

  1. To install VS Code, download VS Code for Windows: https://code.visualstudio.com.

  2. Once VS Code has been installed, you must also install the Python extension. To install the Python extension, you can select the VS Code Marketplace link or open VS Code and search for Python in the extensions menu (Ctrl+Shift+X).

  3. Python is an interpreted language, and in order to run Python code, you must tell VS Code which interpreter to use. We recommend sticking with Python 3.7 unless you have a specific reason for choosing something different. Once you've installed the Python extension, select a Python 3 interpreter by opening the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P), start typing the command Python: Select Interpreter to search, then select the command. You can also use the Select Python Environment option on the bottom Status Bar if available (it may already show a selected interpreter). The command presents a list of available interpreters that VS Code can find automatically, including virtual environments. If you don't see the desired interpreter, see Configuring Python environments.

  4. To open the terminal in VS Code, select View > Terminal, or alternatively use the shortcut Ctrl+` (using the backtick character). The default terminal is PowerShell.

  5. Inside your VS Code terminal, open Python by simply entering the command: python

  6. Try the Python interpreter out by entering: print('Hello World'). Python will return your statement 'Hello World'.

Install Git (optional)

If you plan to collaborate with others on your Python code, or host your project on an open-source site (like GitHub), VS Code supports version control with Git. The Source Control tab in VS Code tracks all of your changes and has common Git commands (add, commit, push, pull) built right into the UI. You first need to install Git to power the Source Control panel.

  1. Download and install Git for Windows from the git-scm website.

  2. An Install Wizard is included that will ask you a series of questions about settings for your Git installation. We recommend using all of the default settings, unless you have a specific reason for changing something.

  3. If you've never worked with Git before, GitHub Guides can help you get started.

Hello World tutorial for some Python basics

Python, according to its creator Guido van Rossum, is a “high-level programming language, and its core design philosophy is all about code readability and a syntax which allows programmers to express concepts in a few lines of code.”

Python is an interpreted language. In contrast to compiled languages, in which the code you write needs to be translated into machine code in order to be run by your computer's processor, Python code is passed straight to an interpreter and run directly. You just type in your code and run it. Let's try it!

  1. With your PowerShell command line open, enter python to run the Python 3 interpreter. (Some instructions prefer to use the command py or python3, these should also work). You will know that you're successful because a >>> prompt with three greater-than symbols will display.

  2. There are several built-in methods that allow you to make modifications to strings in Python. Create a variable, with: variable = 'Hello World!'. Press Enter for a new line.

  3. Print your variable with: print(variable). This will display the text 'Hello World!'.

  4. Find out the length, how many characters are used, of your string variable with: len(variable). This will display that there are 12 characters used. (Note that the blank space it counted as a character in the total length.)

  5. Convert your string variable to upper-case letters: variable.upper(). Now convert your string variable to lower-case letters: variable.lower().

  6. Count how many times the letter 'l' is used in your string variable: variable.count('l').

  7. Search for a specific character in your string variable, let's find the exclamation point, with: variable.find('!'). This will display that the exclamation point is found in the 11th position character of the string.

  8. Replace the exclamation point with a question mark: variable.replace('!', '?').

  9. To exit Python, you can enter exit(), quit(), or select Ctrl-Z.

Hope you had fun using some of Python's built-in string modification methods. Now try creating a Python program file and running it with VS Code.

Hello World tutorial for using Python with VS Code

The VS Code team has put together a great Getting Started with Python tutorial walking through how to create a Hello World program with Python, run the program file, configure and run the debugger, and install packages like matplotlib and numpy to create a graphical plot inside a virtual environment.

  1. Open PowerShell and create an empty folder called 'hello', navigate into this folder, and open it in VS Code:

  2. Once VS Code opens, displaying your new hello folder in the left-side Explorer window, open a command line window in the bottom panel of VS Code by pressing Ctrl+` (using the backtick character) or selecting View > Terminal. By starting VS Code in a folder, that folder becomes your 'workspace'. VS Code stores settings that are specific to that workspace in .vscode/settings.json, which are separate from user settings that are stored globally.

  3. Continue the tutorial in the VS Code docs: Create a Python Hello World source code file.

Create a simple game with Pygame

Pygame is a popular Python package for writing games - encouraging students to learn programming while creating something fun. Pygame displays graphics in a new window, and so it will not work under the command-line-only approach of WSL. However, if you installed Python via the Microsoft Store as detailed in this tutorial, it will work fine.

  1. Once you have Python installed, install pygame from the command line (or the terminal from within VS Code) by typing python -m pip install -U pygame --user.

  2. Test the installation by running a sample game : python -m pygame.examples.aliens

  3. All being well, the game will open a window. Close the window when you are done playing.

Here's how to start writing your own game.

  1. Open PowerShell (or Windows Command Prompt) and create an empty folder called 'bounce'. Navigate to this folder and create a file named 'bounce.py'. Open the folder in VS Code:

  2. Using VS Code, enter the following Python code (or copy and paste it): Hdr efex pro mac download.

  3. Save it as: bounce.py.

  4. From the PowerShell terminal, run it by entering: python bounce.py.

Try adjusting some of the numbers to see what effect they have on your bouncing ball.

Read more about writing games with pygame at pygame.org.

Resources for continued learning

We recommend the following resources to support you in continuing to learn about Python development on Windows.

Online courses for learning Python

  • Introduction to Python on Microsoft Learn: Try the interactive Microsoft Learn platform and earn experience points for completing this module covering the basics on how to write basic Python code, declare variables, and work with console input and output. The interactive sandbox environment makes this a great place to start for folks who don't have their Python development environment set up yet.

  • Python on Pluralsight: 8 Courses, 29 Hours: The Python learning path on Pluralsight offers online courses covering a variety of topics related to Python, including a tool to measure your skill and find your gaps.

  • LearnPython.org Tutorials: Get started on learning Python without needing to install or set anything up with these free interactive Python tutorials from the folks at DataCamp.

  • The Python.org Tutorials: Introduces the reader informally to the basic concepts and features of the Python language and system.

  • Learning Python on Lynda.com: A basic introduction to Python.

Working with Python in VS Code

  • Editing Python in VS Code: Learn more about how to take advantage of VS Code's autocomplete and IntelliSense support for Python, including how to customize their behavior.. or just turn them off.

  • Linting Python: Linting is the process of running a program that will analyse code for potential errors. Learn about the different forms of linting support VS Code provides for Python and how to set it up.

  • Debugging Python: Debugging is the process of identifying and removing errors from a computer program. This article covers how to initialize and configure debugging for Python with VS Code, how to set and validate breakpoints, attach a local script, perform debugging for different app types or on a remote computer, and some basic troubleshooting.

  • Unit testing Python: Covers some background explaining what unit testing means, an example walkthrough, enabling a test framework, creating and running your tests, debugging tests, and test configuration settings.

This page tells you how to setup a Python programming environment for your Mac OS X computer and provides a step-by-step guide for creating and running a simple 'Hello, world' Python program. All of the software is freely available on the Web. These instructions are for MacOS X 10.13 (High Sierra), but the instructions for other recent versions of Mac OS X are similar.


Overview

The Python programming environment required by this booksite consists of:

  • Python, that is, the Python compiler/interpreter.
  • The Python standard libraries.
  • IDLE, the Python Integrated DeveLopment Environment.
  • The Tkinter, NumPy, and Pygame libraries, which are used by the booksite programs that do graphics or audio processing.
  • The booksite library, that is, a set of modules that we developed specifically to support this booksite.
  • The Terminal application that is bundled with Mac OS X.

Downloading and Installing Python, IDLE, Tkinter, NumPy, and Pygame

Note: The Mac Finder application uses the term folder to mean a container of documents and, perhaps, other folders. This document instead uses the equivalent Unix term directory.

Python 2 is bundled with Mac OS X. However, Python 3 is not. We recommend that you download and install Python 3, and use Python 3 exclusively when running programs associated with this booksite.

Perform these steps to download and install Python, IDLE, Tkinter, NumPy, and PyGame:

  • Browse to the Python for Mac download page.

  • In the resulting page click on the Download Python 3.6.5 button. Your browser will download the file python-3.6.5-macosx10.6.pkg to your Downloads directory.

  • Using Mac Finder Manager, navigate to your Downloads directory, and double-click on the python-3.6.5-macosx10.6.pkg file to install Python, Tkinter, and IDLE. Use the default options. (It's OK to delete the python-3.6.5-macosx10.6.pkg file after the installation is complete.)

  • Open a Terminal window. To do that, click on the Spotlight Search icon on the right end of the menu bar. (It has the appearance of a magnifying glass.) In the resulting dialog box, type Terminal.app followed by the Enter key.

  • In the Terminal window issue these commands to install NumPy and PyGame:

To 'issue a command' you should type the command followed by the Enter key.

Perform these steps to test your installation:

  • In the Terminal window issue the python3 command. You should see something like this:

  • If you see that output, then your installation of Python, IDLE, and Tkinter was successful.

  • At the Python >>> prompt, type import numpy followed by the Enter key. If no error messages appear, then your installation of NumPy was successful.

  • At the Python >>> prompt, type import pygame followed by the Enter key. If no error messages appear, then your installation of PyGame was successful.

  • At the Python >>> prompt, type exit() followed by the Enter key to exit Python.

  • In the Terminal window issue the command idle3. If an IDLE window appears, then you have installed IDLE properly. Close the IDLE window.
  • Close the Command Prompt window.

IMPORTANT: When running the Python programs associated with this booksite, do not issue the python command. Instead issue the python3 command. The former command runs the Python 2 compiler/interpreter that is bundled with Mac OS X; the latter command runs the Python 3 compiler/interpreter that you installed by following the instructons on this page.

Downloading and Installing the Booksite Library

Perform these steps to download and install the booksite library:

  • Use your Web browser to download this introcs-1.0.zip file to your /Users/yourusername/Downloads directory.

  • In the Finder, double click on /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-1.0.zip to unzip the file, thus creating a directory named /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-1.0. (It's OK to delete the /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-1.0.zip file after you have unzipped it.)

  • Open a Terminal window.

  • At any time the Terminal application has a working directory. Initially the working directory is /Users/yourusername. In the Terminal window issue the cd Downloads command to change your working directory to /Users/yourusername/Downloads, and then issue the cd introcs-1.0 command to change your working directory to /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-1.0. (Incidentally, the cd . command changes your working directory to the 'parent' of the current working directory.)

  • Issue the ls command to display the names of all files in your working directory. Make sure that a file named setup.py is in your working directory.

  • Issue the python3 setup.py install --user command. The computer copies the files defining the booksite modules to a directory where Python can find them, and writes status messages to your Terminal window to indicate its progress.

Perform these steps to test your installation of the booksite library:

  • In the Terminal window issue the python3 command.

  • At the Python >>> prompt, type the statement import stdio followed by the Enter key. If Python generates no error messages, then you have installed the booksite library properly.

  • At the Python >>> prompt, type exit() followed by the Enter key to exit Python.

  • Close the Terminal window.


Configuring IDLE

So far you've downloaded and installed all of the software that you'll need. You should perform one more step before creating your first program: configure the IDLE programming environment. Follow these instructions:

  • Open a Terminal window.

  • In the Terminal window issue the command idle3 to launch IDLE.

  • Click on the Python → Preferences.. menu item.

  • Click on the General tab.

  • Click on the Open Edit Window radio button.

  • Click on the Ok button.

  • Close the IDLE window.

  • Close the Terminal window.


Composing Your First Program

Having installed Python, the Python standard libraries, IDLE, Tkinter, NumPy, Pygame, and the booksite libraries, and having configured IDLE, you are ready to compose your first Python program. Perform these instructions:

  • Using the Mac Finder, create a directory named /Users/yourusername/hello.

  • Open a Terminal window.

  • Issue the cd hello command to make the /Users/yourusername/hello directory your working directory.

  • Issue the command idle3 & to launch IDLE. Note the trailing ampersand. The trailing ampersand tells the computer to run the idle3 program in the background, thereby leaving your Terminal application free to handle additional commands while IDLE is running.

  • In IDLE, type the four-line Python program helloworld.py exactly as it appears below. Use the arrow keys, mouse, or touchpad to move within the text that you have typed. Use the Delete key to delete text. Be careful; the smallest typing mistake might cause the program to fail.

  • When you are finished typing, in IDLE click on the File → Save.. menu item to save the Python program. Save it in a file named helloworld.py in the directory /Users/yourusername/hello. The file name is case sensitive, so make sure you use all lowercase letters.


Running Your First Program

The final step is to run your program. It is possible to run some Python programs from within IDLE, but you should run the programs associated with this booksite directly from a Terminal window. To do that, perform these steps:

  • Within the same Terminal window, issue the ls command to display the names of all files in the working directory. Confirm that the working directory contains your helloworld.py file.

  • Issue the python3 helloworld.py command to run your program. If the computer writes 'Hello, World' to the Terminal window, then the execution of your helloworld.py program was successful. If the computer instead writes error messages, then use IDLE to correct your program, and issue the python3 helloworld.py command again. Repeat until your program runs successfully. If your program runs successfully the first time you try, then intentionally introduce an error into your program, just so you get some experience with correcting errors.

  • Close the IDLE window.

  • Close the Terminal window.

You now have installed and configured a reasonable Python environment, and have used it to compose and run a Python program. Congratulations! You are a Python programmer!


Downloading the Booksite Example Programs (optional)

We recommend that you download the booksite example programs, that is, the example Python programs that are presented incrementally throughout the booksite. Having done so, you can run those programs to help you learn about them. Perform these instructions:

  • Use your Web browser to download this introcs-python.zip file to your /Users/yourusername/Downloads directory.

  • In the Mac Finder, double-click on /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-python.zip to unzip the file, thus creating the /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-python directory containing the booksite example programs. (It's OK to delete the /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-python.zip file after you have unzipped it.)

Then perform these steps to test your download of the booksite example programs:

  • Open a Terminal window.

  • Issue the cd Downloads and cd introcs-python commands to make /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-python your working directory.

  • Issue the ls command. Confirm that the working directory contains a file named bouncingball.py.

  • Issue the python3 bouncingball.py command. If Python launches a stddraw window showing an animated bouncing ball, then your download of the booksite example programs was successful.

  • Close the stddraw window.

  • Close the Terminal window.

Command Line Python


Downloading the Booksite Example Data (optional)

We recommend that you download the booksite example data, that is, the data files used by the booksite example programs that are presented incrementally throughout the booksite. Perform these instructions:

  • Use your Web browser to download this introcs-data.zip file to your /Users/yourusername/Downloads directory.

  • In the Finder, double-click on /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-data.zip to unzip the file, thus creating the /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-data directory containing the booksite example data files. (It's OK to delete the /Users/yourusername/Downloads/introcs-data.zip file after you have unzipped it.)


Downloading the Booksite Library: Part 2 (optional)

Previously on this page we described how to download and install the booksite library so Python can find it. Now we describe how to download the booksite library so you can find it — for the sake of studying the code that implements it, should you so desire. Perform these instructions:

  • Use your Web browser to download this stdlib-python.zip file to your /Users/yourusername/Downloads directory.

  • In the Mac Finder, double-click on /Users/yourusername/Downloads/stdlib-python.zip to unzip the file, thus creating the /Users/yourusername/Downloads/stdlib-python directory containing the booksite library. (It's OK to delete the /Users/yourusername/Downloads/stdlib-python.zip file after you have unzipped it.)

We invite you to study the code that implements the booksite library. But don't be concerned if some of the code is cryptic. The code that implements the booksite library uses some features of Python that are beyond the scope of the textbook and this booksite.

Download Python Windows Command Line


Download Python Mac Command Line Change Directory

Q & A

Q. Why do I get the error ImportError: No module named stdio when I issue the command python program_that_uses_stdio.py?

A. You must issue the command python3 program_that_uses_stdio.py, as described above.

Q. I downloaded files using my browser, but can't find them. Where are they?

Download Python Mac Command Line Installer

A. Many browsers by default place downloaded files in the directory /Users/yourusername/Downloads.

Q. How do I break out of an infinite loop when running my program from the Terminal application?

A. Type Ctrl-c. That is, while pressing the Ctrl key, type the c key.

Download Python Command Line

Q. Must I use IDLE to create my Python programs? Can I use some other text editor?

Download Python Mac Command Line Commands

A. You need not use IDLE to create your Python programs; it is fine to use some other text editor. For example, it is reasonable to use the TextEdit editor that is bundled with Mac OS X. However if you do use some other text editor, then make sure you change its settings so it (1) uses a four-space indentation scheme, and (2) indents using spaces instead of tabs. The Wikipedia Comparison of text editors page provides summary descriptions of many text editors.