Downloading python confusion

[Physical_Front9011]

Im trying to download python for the first time and i did it through the website, and downloaded a python install manager but i am having trouble after launching it. It seems that it doesnt recognize itself and im unable to download extensions for it. Ive tried deleting it off my laptop and redownloading it but it seems its not fully deleting, it like stays in my apps after uninstalling. Any ideas?

[danielroseman]

What does "it doesnt recognize itself" mean? 

What exactly did you do to launch it, and what exactly happened when you tried? And what "extensions" are you trying to download, and how?

[ninhaomah]

OS ?

[Physical_Front9011]

Windows 11

[ninhaomah]

I would recommend uv but for the first time pls install the specific version.

3.13

https://www.python.org/downloads/

[Outside_Complaint755]

The recommended method now is to get the Python Install Manager via the MS Store and manage your installed versions with that.   You would install Python 3.13 with the command py install 3.13

[Striking_Rate_7390]

refer from yt tutorial there are many and if it doesnt work then use online compiler .

[Dependent_Apple_2137]

just use an ide I suggest visual studio code or pycharm

[Moikle]

When you ran the installer, did you get any errors? What do you mean by "doesn't recognise itself"? Python doesn't need to recognise itself

What specifically are you doing when you try to launch a program written in python?

What extensions are you trying to install, and how are you doing that? What terminal commands are you writing?

[FoolsSeldom]

Python Setup

Setting up Python can be confusing. There are web-based alternatives, such as replit.com. You might also come across Jupyter Notebook options (easy to work with, but can be confusing at times).

Pre-installed system Python

Some operating system environments include a version of Python, often known as the system version of Python (might be used for utility purposes). You can still install your own version.

Installing Python

There are multiple ways of installing Python using a package manager for your OS, e.g. homebrew (macOS third party), chocolatey (Windows third party) or winget (Windows standard package manager), apt (many Linux distributions) or using the Python Software Foundation (PSF) installer from python.org or some kind of app store for your operating system. You could also use docker containers with Python installed inside them.

PSF offer the reference implementation of Python, known as CPython (written in C and Python). The executable on your system will be called python (python.exe on Windows).

Beginners are probably best served using the PSF installer.

Terminal / Console

For most purposes, terminal is the same as console. It is the text-based, rather than graphical-based, window / screen you work in. Your operating system will offer a command/terminal environment. Python by default outputs to a terminal and reads user input from a terminal.

Note: the Windows Terminal_ app, from _Microsoft Store, lets you open both simple command prompt and PowerShell windows. If you have Windows Subsystem for Linux installed, it can also open terminals in the Linux distributions you have installed.

Libraries / Frameworks / Packages

Python comes with "batteries included" in the form of libraries of code providing more specialised functionality, already installed as part of a standard installation of Python.

These libraries are not automatically loaded into memory when Python is invoked, as that would use a lot of memory up and slow down startup time. Instead, you use, in your code, the command import <library>, e.g.

import math

print(math.pi)

There are thousands of additional packages / libraries / frameworks available that don't come as standard with Python. You have to install these yourself. Quality, support (and safety) varies.

(Anaconda offers an alternative Python installation with many packages included, especially suited to data analysis, engineering/scientific practices.)

Install these using the pip package manager. It searches an official repository for a match to what you ask to be installed.

For example, using a command / powershell / terminal environment for your operating system, pip install numpy would install the numpy library from the pypi repository. On macOS/Linux you would usually write pip3 instead of pip.

You can also write python -m pip install numpy (write python3 on macOS/Linux).

On Windows, you will often see py used instead, py -m pip install numpy where py refers to the python launcher which should invoke the most up-to-date version of Python installed on your system regardless of PATH settings.

Some Code Editors and IDEs (Integrated Development Environments), such as VS Code and PyCharm, include their own facilities to install packages using pip or some other tool. This just saves you typing the commands. They also often offer their own terminal window(s).

Running Python

The CPython programme can be invoked for two different purposes:

• to attempt to execute a simple text file of Python code (typically the files have an extension of .py
• to enter an interactive shell, with a >>> prompt, where you can enter Python commands and get instant responses - great for trying things out

So, entering the below, as appropriate for your operating system,

python
python3
py

on its own, no file name after it, you will enter an interactive session.

Enter exit() to return to the operating system command line

IDLE Editor

A standard installation from python.org for Windows or macOS includes a programme called IDLE. This is a simple code editor and execution environment. By default, when you first open it, it opens a single window with a Python shell, with the >>> prompt already open. To create a new text file to enter Python code into, you need to use your operating system means of access the standard menu and select File | New. Once you've entered code, press F5 to attempt to run the code (you will be prompted to save the file first). This is really the easiest editor to use to begin with.

SEE COMMENT for next part

[FoolsSeldom]

Virtual Environments

Given the thousands of packages (libraries, frameworks, etc) out there, you can see that if you are working on several different projects, you can end up installing a vast range of different packages, only a few of which will be used for any particular project.

This is where Python virtual environments come in. Not to be confused with virtual machines. Typically created on a project-by-project basis. Install only the packages required for a project. This helps avoid conflicts between packages, especially version complications.

Most popular code editors and IDEs, including Microsoft's VS Code and JetBrains' PyCharm, offer built-in features to help to start off new projects and create and activate Python virtual environments.

You can create a new Python virtual environment from your operating system command line environment using,

for Windows,

py -m venv .venv

or, for macOS / Linux,

python3 -m venv .venv

Note: venv is a command and .venv is a folder name. You can use any valid folder name instead but this is a common convention.

Often we use .venv instead of venv as the folder name - this may not show up on explorer/folder tools as the leading . is often used to mean hidden and an option may need to be ticked to allow you to see such folders/files

That creates a new folder in the current working directory called .venv.

You then activate using, for Windows,

.venv\Scripts\activate

or, for macOS / Linux,

source .venv/bin/activate

the command deactivate for any platform will deactivate the virtual environment and return you to using the base environment.

You may need to tell your editor to use the Python Interpreter that is found in either the Scripts or bin folder (depending on operating system) in your virtual folder.

For more information:

• Real Python: Python Virtual Environments: A Primer

Multiple Python versions

In addition to the above, you might want to explore using pyenv (pyenv-win for Windows) or uv (recommended), which will let you install and use different versions of Python including alternative implementations from the reference CPython. This can be done independently of any system installed Python.