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‎README.md

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### How can I read this tutorial without an Internet connection?
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Currently (Feb. 2017) this tutorial is updated often, so it's best to
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read this tutorial on GitHub to make sure you are reading the latest
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version. But you can also download this tutorial and read it without
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Internet if you need to, like this:
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1. Go [here](https://github.com/Akuli/python-tutorial) if you aren't
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here already.
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2. Click the big green "Clone or download" button in the top right of
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the page, then click "Download ZIP".
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![Download ZIP](images/download-me.png)
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![The Download ZIP button.](images/download-me.png)
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3. Open the ZIP, then drag and drop `python-tutorial-master` to your
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desktop.
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4. [Install Python and open a command prompt or
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terminal](basics/installing-python-md). If you are using Windows,
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run these commands:
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```
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cd Desktop
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python-tutorial-master
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py make-html.py
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```
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3. Extract the ZIP and open it. Unfortunately I don't have any more
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specific instructions because how exactly this is done depends on
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which operating system you run.
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4. Run `make-html.py` and follow the instructions.
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Use these commands instead on Linux and Mac OSX:
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```
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cd Desktop
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cd python-tutorial-master
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python3 make-html.py
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```
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5. Follow the instructions you see on the terminal or command prompt.
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If you have git and you know how to use it, you can also clone the
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repository instead of downloading a zip and extracting it. An advantage
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error fixes.
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- [theelous3](https://github.com/theelous3): Small improvements and fixes.
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**TODO:** add the names of all beginners who have told me what they struggled with.
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***
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If you have trouble with this tutorial please [tell me about

‎basics/cheatsheet.md

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# Cheat sheet of the basics
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The basics section contains a lot of stuff, and the most important
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things are summarized here. You can keep this page open while writing
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code, or if you see something you don't understand you can check if it's
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here.
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‎basics/editor-setup-2.md

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# Setting up an editor for programming
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An editor is a program that lets us write longer programs than we can on
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the `>>>` prompt. Then we can save the programs to files and run them.
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You may have noticed that Python comes with an editor called IDLE, but
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it's not really good enough for programming and I don't know any
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experienced programmers who would actually use it.
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In this chapter we'll download, install, set up and learn to use an
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alternative editor. This does not mean something like Microsoft Word or
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LibreOffice/OpenOffice Writer. These programs are for writing text, not
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for programming.
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This tutorial uses an editor called Geany because it's easy to use and
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it works great on Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. You can use any editor you
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want, but I don't recommend learning any of these editors now. There are
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many editors to choose from and the choice of editor is a very personal
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thing.
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Different programmers have different favorite editors, and they often
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recommend their own favorite editor to everyone. These editors are not
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good for beginners. **If someone recommends one of these to you when you
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are getting started with Python, say no:**
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- Spyder
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- PyCharm
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- Emacs
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- Vim
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- NetBeans
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- Spyder
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These editors are missing some important features, so **don't use
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these** either:
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- Wingware
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- Windows Notepad
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- Gedit
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- Pluma
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Editor setup sections in all Python tutorials I have seen are usually
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like "click here, then here". In this tutorial I'll show you what
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different settings do and why you need them.
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## Downloading Geany
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## Automatic tab expanding
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This is important. Never use tabs in Python. Nobody else is using tabs,
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and the official style guide tells you to never use tabs.
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However, **you don't need to press the spacebar four times every time
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you want to indent**. Your editor should give you four spaces when you
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hit the tab key. Some editors also remove four spaces when you hit
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backspace and there are four spaces before the cursor.
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### Geany
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1. Go to *Edit* at the top and select Preferences.
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2. Go to *Editor* at left.
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2. Go to *Indenting* at top.
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4. Select *Spaces* instead of *Tabs*.
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### gedit and pluma
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1. Go to Edit at the top and select Preferences.
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2. Go to Editor at top.
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3. Change the indent width to 4 and select *Add spaces instead of tabs*.
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### GNU Emacs
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Emacs uses spaces with Python files by default.
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### GNU Nano
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Open your `~/.nanorc`.
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$ nano ~/.nanorc
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Add these lines to it:
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set tabsize 4
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set tabstospaces
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### Mousepad
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1. Go to *Document* at the top, then *Tab Size*.
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2. Select 4.
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3. Also select *Insert Spaces*.
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## Syntax highlighting
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If you type a keyword, like `if`, it should show up with a different
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color than the rest of your text. `"Strings"`, `# comments` and
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everything else should also have their own colors. This makes it much
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easier to write code.
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Most of the editors below have syntax highlighting turned on by
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default, but you can also change the colors.
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### Geany
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Install more [color schemes](https://www.geany.org/Download/Extras#colors),
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then go to *View*, *Change Color Scheme*.
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### gedit and pluma
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Click *Fonts & Colors* in the preferences and select another color
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theme.
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### GNU Emacs
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Type M-x, type `load-theme`, press Tab twice to see a list of theme
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names, then enter a theme name and press Enter. If you want to
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automatically set the theme when Emacs starts, add
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`(load-theme 'your-theme-name)` to your `~/.emacs`.
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### Mousepad
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Click *View*, go to *Color Scheme* and select whatever you want.
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## Is your editor using Python 3?
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Some editors allow you to run your programs with a single keystroke,
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usually by pressing F5. This tutorial is written for Python 3 or newer,
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so your editor also needs to run the programs in Python 3 or newer.
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If you are unsure which Python your editor runs, create a test file
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with the following contents:
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```python
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import sys
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print(sys.version)
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```
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If the version starts with 2, it's too old.
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### Geany
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1. Go to *Build*, then *Set Build Commands*.
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2. Replace `python` or `python2` with `python3` everywhere. Or if you
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are using Windows, run `python` on a terminal and enter these
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commands:
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```python
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>>> import sys
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>>> print(sys.executable)
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```
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You'll get a path to your python.exe. Replace `python` in the build
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commands with this path. Most importantly, your *Execute* command
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should be `"C:\your\path" "%f"`.
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### gedit, pluma and Mousepad
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These editors don't support running programs with F5.
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### GNU Emacs
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Usually I write something in Emacs, then I press Ctrl+Z to suspend
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Emacs, run the program myself and then I run `fg` to get back to Emacs.
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If you know how to run Python programs in Emacs and you'd like to write
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about it here, [tell me](contact-me.md).
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***
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If you have trouble with this tutorial please [tell me about
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it](./contact-me.md) and I'll make this tutorial better. If you
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like this tutorial, please [give it a
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star](./README.md#how-can-i-thank-you-for-writing-and-sharing-this-tutorial).
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You may use this tutorial freely at your own risk. See
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[LICENSE](./LICENSE).
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[List of contents](./README.md#list-of-contents)

‎basics/installing-python.md

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installing Python. That way you don't need to open a web browser just
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to write code, and you can work without an Internet connection.
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It doesn't matter which operating system you use because Python runs
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great on Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and many other operating systems.
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However, installing and launching Python are done differently on
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different operating systems, so just follow your operating system's
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instructions.
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Let's get started!
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## Downloading and installing Python
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you.
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1. Go to [the official Python website](https://www.python.org/).
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2. Move your mouse over the blue Downloads button, but don't click it,
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Then click the button that downloads the latest version of Python.
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2. Move your mouse over the blue Downloads button, but don't click it.
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Then click the button that downloads the latest version of Python.
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3. Run the installer.
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4. Install Python like any other program. Make sure the py.exe
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launcher gets installed.
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4. Make sure that the launcher gets installed and click Install Now.
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![The py.exe launcher.](../images/py-exe.png)
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### Mac OSX
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I don't have an up-to-date copy of Mac OSX. If you would like to write
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instructions for OSX, [tell me](../contact-me.md).
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### GNU/Linux
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At the time of writing this, Macs don't come with a Python 3 and you
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need to install it yourself. It should be like installing any other
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program, but unfortunately I don't have better instructions because I
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don't have an up-to-date Mac and I have never installed Python on a Mac.
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If you would like to write better instructions, [tell
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me](../contact-me.md).
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You already have Python, there's no need to download anything.
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### Linux
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If you want to use IDLE (see below), install it. The name of the
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package is `idle3` on Debian-based distributions, like Ubuntu and Linux
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Mint, and you can install it with a software manager like any other
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program. On other distributions you can just search for idle using the
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distribution's package manager.
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You already have Python 3, there's no need to install anything. You may
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also have Python 2, but don't try to remove it. Some of your programs
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are probably written in Python 2, so removing the Python 2 would break
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them.
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## Running Python
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Now you have Python installed. There are several ways to run Python:
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1. Directly from PowerShell, command prompt or terminal.
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2. Using IDLE.
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3. Using something else.
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I'm not going to focus on the third option in this tutorial, but if you
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know how to use Python with something else than PowerShell, command
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prompt, a terminal or IDLE it's fine. Do whatever you want.
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### If you are not an advanced user and you have no idea what PowerShell, command prompt and terminal are
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Use IDLE. Experienced Python users will say that IDLE is garbage, but
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don't listen to them. These people want you to use "better"
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alternatives with more features, but that's exactly what you don't want
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as a beginner. You should spend as little time as possible learning
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your tools, and as much time as possible learning Python. Advanced
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programming tools are not going to help you with this at all.
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Next we'll learn to run Python on a command prompt or terminal. There
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are several other ways to run Python, but if you learn this way now it's
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going to make things easier later.
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Launch Python's IDLE like any other program. You should see something
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like this:
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![IDLE](../images/idle.png)
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From now on, I'll instead show everything like this, so I don't have to
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take more screenshots:
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Python 3.4.3 (default, Oct 14 2015, 20:28:29)
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[GCC 4.8.4] on linux
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Type "copyright", "credits" or "license()" for more information.
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>>>
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The exact content of your Python's welcome message is probably different
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than mine, it's ok.
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### Windows
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### If you like working with PowerShell, command prompt or terminal
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1. Open a PowerShell from your start menu or start screen.
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2. Type `py` and press Enter. You should see something like this:
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On Windows. you should be able to run Python from a PowerShell window,
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or a command prompt window if you don't have PowerShell. Open one of
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these programs from the start menu or start screen, type there `py` and
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press Enter. You should see something like this in it:
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![Python running in a PowerShell window.](../images/powershell.png)
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C:\Users\You> py
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Python 3.4.4 (v3.4.4:737efcadf5a6, Dec 20 2015, 19:28:18)
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[MSC v.1600 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
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Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
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>>>
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### Other operating systems
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On GNU/Linux or Mac OSX, you should have a terminal application installed
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already. Run it and type `python3`:
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1. Open a terminal. How exactly this is done depends on your operating
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system, but most operating systems have some way to search for
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programs. Search for a program called terminal and launch it.
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2. Type `python3` and press Enter. You should see something like this:
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you@YourComputer:~$ python3
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Python 3.4.3 (default, Oct 14 2015, 20:28:29)
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[GCC 4.8.4] on linux
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Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
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>>>
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![Running Python on my terminal.](../images/terminal.png)
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Now you can type `exit()` and press Enter to get out of Python.
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Your terminal probably looks different than mine, it's OK.
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You may also have an older version of Python installed, but don't remove
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it. Your system may need it, so if you replace it with your own Python
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some things might stop working. See
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[this](https://docs.python.org/3/faq/installed.html) for more info.
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Now you can type `exit()` and press Enter to get out of Python. Or you
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can just close the PowerShell or Terminal window.
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## Summary
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‎images/powershell.png

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‎images/py-exe.png

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‎images/terminal.png

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‎update-ends.py

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If you have trouble with this tutorial please [tell me about
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it]({toplevel}/contact-me.md) and I'll make this tutorial better. If you
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like this tutorial, please [give it a
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star]({toplevel}/README.md#how-can-i-thank-you-for-writing-and-sharing-this-tutorial).
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star]({toplevel}/README.md#how-can-i-thank-you-for-writing-and-sharing-\
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this-tutorial).
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You may use this tutorial freely at your own risk. See
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[LICENSE]({toplevel}/LICENSE).

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