LAUNCHING PYTHON ON YOUR MACHINE

There are three different ways to launch Python:

• Use the Python Interactive Interpreter.

• Launch Python scripts from the command line.

• Use an IDE.

The next section shows you how to launch the Python interpreter from the command line, and later in this appendix you will learn how to launch Python scripts from the command line and also about Python IDEs.

Note: the emphasis in this book is to launch Python scripts from the command line or to enter code in the Python interpreter.

The Python Interactive Interpreter

Launch the Python interactive interpreter from the command line by opening a command shell and typing the following command:

python

You will see the following prompt (or something similar):

Python 3.9.1 (v3.9.1:1e5d33e9b9, Dec  7 2020, 12:44:01)
[Clang 12.0.0 (clang-1200.0.32.27)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for
more information.
>>>

Now...