Lesson 1: Tools & Your First Python Program

Welcome to this course about Python for PHP developers. There are many Python 101 courses online, but I specifically wanted to create this course for "my audience" of PHP/Laravel professionals.

The idea is that you already know how to code in one language (PHP), and this course will be an overview of what's different in Python compared to PHP:

• Use-cases
• Syntax
• Structure of projects
• etc.

This course aims to be a reference, preparing you for real practical courses/tutorials on Python and Machine Learning so that you can understand their syntax details.

So, let's start your training!

1. Python Installation

To start writing Python programs, we need to install Python binaries first.

But, compared to PHP, you do not need to set up a web server or MySQL database setup to run your Python programs.

Here are the instructions on how to do that on the leading platforms.

Windows

Download and install the latest stable Python release from the official website - https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/

MacOS

Download and install the latest stable Python release from the official website - https://www.python.org/downloads/macos/

Linux

Most Linux distributions have Python installed by default.

You can check if Python is present on your system by using python --version or python3 --version command:

1$ python --version
2Python 3.11.6
3
4$ python3 --version
5Python 3.11.6

In case you don't have it, you can install Python using these commands:

Fedora / RedHat

1sudo dnf upgrade
2sudo dnf install python

Ubuntu / Debian

1sudo apt update
2sudo apt install python3

At the time of writing this, the latest Python version is 3.12. But even if you have an earlier version, it shouldn't be a problem for this course.

2. PyCharm Installation

For this course, we chose PyCharm Community Edition IDE as our main editor because it provides all essential features out of the box without any additional configuration.

You can download it from the Official JetBrains Website.

Download an executable for your OS and follow the instructions.

Versions of PyCharm may differ

Windows

1. Run the pycharm-community-2023.2.5.exe file that starts the Installation Wizard
2. Follow all steps suggested by the wizard. Please pay special attention to the corresponding installation options

MacOS

1. Download the pycharm-community-2023.2.5-aarch64.dmg macOS Disk Image file
2. Mount it as another disk in your system
3. Copy PyCharm to your Applications folder

Linux

1. Unpack the pycharm-community-2023.2.5.tar.gz file to an empty directory using the following commands:

1mkdir -p ~/pycharm
2 
3tar -zxf pycharm-community-2023.2.5.tar.gz -C ~/pycharm

Note: A new instance MUST NOT be extracted over an existing one. The target folder must be empty.

2. Run PyCharm.sh from the bin/ subdirectory

1cd ~/pycharm/pycharm-community-2023.2.5/bin
2 
3./pycharm.sh

Alternative ways to install PyCharm

Fedora using flatpak

Alternatively, you can install PyCharm using flatpak command:

1flatpak install flathub com.jetbrains.PyCharm-Community

Run with this command:

1flatpak run com.jetbrains.PyCharm-Community

3. Run your first program

Open your PyCharm IDE and create a new project:

After pressing the Create button, you will be greeted with the following window:

In file view, you will see this code:

main.py

 1# This is a sample Python script.
 2 
 3# Press Shift+F10 to execute it or replace it with your code.
 4# Press Double Shift to search everywhere for classes, files, tool windows, actions, and settings.
 5 
 6 
 7def print_hi(name):
 8    # Use a breakpoint in the code line below to debug your script.
 9    print(f'Hi, {name}')  # Press Ctrl+F8 to toggle the breakpoint.
10 
11 
12# Press the green button in the gutter to run the script.
13if __name__ == '__main__':
14    print_hi('PyCharm')
15 
16# See PyCharm help at https://www.jetbrains.com/help/pycharm/

Press SHIFT+F10 (hotkey may vary on your OS) to run your program.

At the bottom of your IDE you should see the output window with the Hi PyCharm! message.