My Tech Blog

Getting Started with Python

Welcome to the beginner-friendly guide that will get you up and running with Python, one of the most popular programming languages today.

Table of Contents 1. Install Python 2. Your First Program 3. Variables & Data Types 4. Control Flow 5. Functions 6. Next Steps

1. Install Python

Download the latest version from python.org and follow the installer prompts. Remember to check “Add Python to PATH” on Windows.

# Verify installation
python --version
# or on macOS/Linux
python3 --version

2. Your First Program

Create a file named hello.py and add the following line:

print("Hello, World!")

Run it from the terminal:

python hello.py

3. Variables & Data Types

Python is dynamically typed. You can assign values without declaring the type:

# Integers
age = 30

# Floats
price = 19.99

# Strings
name = "Alice"

# Booleans
is_admin = False

# Lists
fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]

4. Control Flow

Conditional statements and loops let you direct the execution of your code.

# If-elif-else
if age >= 18:
    print("Adult")
elif age >= 13:
    print("Teen")
else:
    print("Child")

# For loop
for fruit in fruits:
    print(fruit)

# While loop
counter = 0
while counter < 5:
    print(counter)
    counter += 1

5. Functions

Encapsulate reusable logic with functions:

def greet(name):
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

message = greet("Bob")
print(message)

6. Next Steps