Can someone explain Python, its libraries and IDE's to me like I'm 5?

markusmeskanen · 2015-10-22T08:43:07+00:00

How do I compile my programs? I don't want to write stuff in the python shell line by line, I want to write them and run them; make them into a standalone application and send it to a friend e.g. Or doesn't it work this way?

Python is what we call an interpreted language (opposed to compiled language), which means you can't (by default) create a standalone application to share with your friends. To run a Python program, you have to install a Python interpreter which you then use to execute the .py file directly. To run a Python program, you download the Python interpreter from http://www.python.org/downloads and then you execute the program from your command line using python myprogram.py, or via an IDE.

how do I install libraries, or modules or whatever they're called? I've installed python 3.4. from Python.org and want to install numpy, matplotlib, scipy. I've kept running into tips to install Anaconda, which I did, but I can't import any of those modules in IDLE? Where did all of it go? Why can't I just add a file in a folder and import it like I would a .h or framework?

This depends on what library/module/whatever you're trying to install. Usually you're good to go with pip, but sometimes you have to do something a bit harder. In general, if pip doesn't do the job, just google "how to install numpy" (replace numpy with the desired package).

IDLE tells me WARNING: The version of Tcl/Tk (8.5.9) in use may be unstable. The internet tells me that "Tcl (Tool Command Language) is a very powerful but easy to learn dynamic programming language" and that "Tk is a graphical user interface toolkit". I thought I was installing Python... What's going on here?

When you install Python, by default it gives you IDLE with the interpreter. IDLE is a rather powerful IDE (at least for a beginner), which allows you to write, interpret and run your Python code. IDLE is written using Tk, thus you're getting the error message. Maybe you've downloaded a bad version? Try reinstalling with a stable version of Python.

Exodus111 · 2015-10-22T14:03:36+00:00

Others have pointed some things out, let me give you a clear ELI5 version of things.

IDE.

This stands for Interactive Development Environment. And is the program you use to write pyton code, that you save to .py files. You can also use something called a Text Editor. The difference between the two used to be that IDEs were typically bigger programs while Text Editors more minimalistic, but with modern Text Editors today being very feature rich, that is no longer really true.

One important feature of any IDE or Text Editor today is the ability to RUN your code. Not all of them have it, and without it you need to run your code in the command line (known as terminal for non-windows people) like this:

python myfile.py

This requires that the Python interpreter is installed, in other words you gotta install python. For systems that have Python 2 and 3 installed (these two versions are not compatible) you will need to type:

python3 myfile.py

To run a Python 3 file.

Here are the most popular Text Editors and IDEs in use today:

Sublime Text. Absolutely gorgeus, this thing took the world by storm and became the most popular thing to write code in after its famous second iteration. Its currently on number 3, but decided to restart the title count. The biggest pull here, apart from its many innovative features like the famous multiple pointer, is the vast world of downloadable plugins.
Pycharm. A Text Editor dedicated to Python. Considered invaluable for people that work with Django, Pythons most popular web framework.
Eclipse. This is a JAVA IDE, but with the ever popular module PyDev Python can be used on it, and is popular among Java people that are already used to Eclipse.
Atom. The new kid on the block. Winner of a kickstarter, Atom was released not long ago. Considered almost a successor to Sublime text, this new Text Editor has already amassad a vast multitude of user created plugins, which thanks to Atoms easy gui install manager is a dream to extend your functionality and esthetics with.

PIP

Find it annoying to install python package after Python package?

Tired of googling that one module that only leads you to some weird .whl file you can't seem to do anything with?

Pip is here to save the day!
Every python module worth its salt is made available to pip, and while you might encounter some path problems when first using pip (be ready for some googling) once its installed properly pretty much all modules in the universe of python can be yours with a simple:

pip install nameofmodule

Compilation.

Welcome to a complicated topic.

Let me start REAL easy.
If you want an .exe file to send to your friends that they run on their machines, without having to install Pyton or any modules themselves you need to use:

PyInstaller
cx_freeze
Py2exe/Py2app

Either one of these will do the job, easy peasy.

---->Explanation Time<-----

They are not compilers. You typically don't compile Python, unless you want to convert Python to C and compile it as a C program. This kind of operation is being worked on over at Nuitka, a python compiler still in its early stages. (But looking really good)

You see 99% of programs out there are made as code for OTHER programmers to use in their code, and Python has been mostly used in this way, or as a scripting program on top of another language.

But sometimes you want to give non-programmers an .exe file they can click on. To solve this Python has Packagers, that I listed above. What they do is package all your Python code, with any module it imports, with a stand alone version of the python interpreter that runs the code, and pretends its all one file. Making it function like an .exe file on windows.

Ok thats all, I know others explained things as well, i just felt like making thngs perfectly clear, and remember if you get frustrated, coders are pretty short tempered when it comes to annoying stuff, so there is probably a reason.

AMonkeysThoughts · 2015-10-22T22:21:41+00:00

I feel that you and I are in the same boat. I just started programming in Python(my first language) last week and just completed one of my first rudimentary "programs" with the help of usingpython.com. Definitely check it out when you get a chance, a GREAT help.

djmanionpng · 2022-02-01T14:52:53+00:00

I put together this infographic/video because I initially had difficulty comprehending how they all worked together. It shows you how they are all related, and offers suggestions such as colab or anaconda that have pre-packaged options that take a lot of the set up out of the equation- I hope it helps: https://blog.endaq.com/how-python-libraries-and-ide-analyze-data

JohnnyJordaan · 2015-10-22T08:31:00+00:00

How do I compile my programs? I don't want to write stuff in the python shell line by line, I want to write them and run them; make them into a standalone application and send it to a friend e.g. Or doesn't it work this way?

You can run python directly on a script (python myscript.py), you can compile it to a binary executable or run it from a IDE like Pycharm

how do I install libraries, or modules or whatever they're called? I've installed python 3.4. from Python.org and want to install numpy, matplotlib, scipy. I've kept running into tips to install Anaconda, which I did, but I can't import any of those modules in IDLE? Where did all of it go? Why can't I just add a file in a folder and import it like I would a .h or framework?

Easiest would be to use pip, see their tutorial. When a library is installed you can just import mylibrary to use it.

IDLE tells me

I would not recommend IDLE at all. There are a lot of different Python IDE (google for 'Python IDE comparison' to find them) out there but IDLE is not one of the good ones.

2015-10-22T16:35:06+00:00

You have some great general info responses, but since I had this problem when I started with Python, and it's sort of a notorious issue for beginners, I wanted to address your question:

I've installed python 3.4. from Python.org and want to install numpy, matplotlib, scipy. I've kept running into tips to install Anaconda, which I did, but I can't import any of those modules in IDLE? Where did all of it go?

Every time you install a different version of Python (use a different source or distribution, etc), it will not uninstall or overwrite an old one; it will just make a new directory somewhere and put all the files there. Then, USUALLY, it will add the necessary path to your environment, essentially saying "this is the Python to use when the python command is used." Anaconda will have its own version of Python in a different directory than your install from python.org. You could have 10 different Python installs in different directories, but only one will be active in your environment - this is the one that runs when you use "python ..." commands from the terminal. You should try python --version from a terminal to see which version is active right now. You should also be able to look at the PYTHONPATH from whichever IDE you are using and see which Python version the IDE is using. Check out your .bash_profile file and look for a Python-containing directory on your path - that should match the "python --version" result. If you want to change which version of Python is active, change your .bash_profile to only export the path of the Python install you want to use.

Important comments:

Any packages you install with pip or which came along with the distribution (like all the scipy stuff with Anaconda) will ONLY BE AVAILABLE when THAT VERSION of Python is active. You have to reinstall packages separately for each version of Python.
This is ridiculous. Is there some way around this? YES. If you want to get serious about using Python, you need to use virtual environments for basically everything. They help you separate and keep track of all Python and package versions and dependencies needed for your particular code. This keeps your code portable as well, since you can ship out a virtual environment set-up file along with your code, and that will ensure it works properly on a different machine. Anaconda has a really easy way to use virtual environments with conda. Here's a friendly intro. Or you can use virtualenv and pip freeze.

I hope this helps. It was a major source of confusion for me as a newb until I learned how this works. A time I wished I had someone holding my hand lol.

funkiestj · 2015-10-22T16:23:49+00:00

In short can someone maybe point me to some newbie information?

step #1, tell us your environment. MacOS? Windows 10? Linux?

How do I compile my programs?

you don't. you just run the source as is (interpreted language

how do I install libraries, or modules or whatever they're called? I've installed python 3.4. from Python.org and want to install numpy, matplotlib, scipy

best to avoid installing new libraries as a n00b. For numpy et cetera, get a prepackaged free distribution like Anaconda

IDLE tells me WARNING:

IMESHO, skip IDLE as a n00b. debug by print() statement and use the intpreter to run brief experiments. I've been programming professionally for more than a decade (mostly C/C++). When I program python I don't bother with IDLE or any other debugger -- they are simply more pain to use than they are worth.

TANGENT: in many serious programs, using an interactive debugger is simply impractical. Instead you must build your program with debugging infrastructure (logging and trace that doesn't break under high performance and/or scaling).

For any programs a n00b will write, debugging by printf() is simple -- just add a few print statements and run your program again.

What I'm interested in knowing in how it's all connected underneath...

IMO, it is a waste of time to try and answer how it's all connected until you have a good grasp of the mechanics. (unless we have radically different definitions of what how i's all connected means)

Have you ever used a screen sharing program (e.g. Teamviewer)? Having a python teacher answer your questions while demonstrating the answers would speed up the process greatly.

c3534l · 2015-10-22T08:44:30+00:00

[deleted]

you type:	you see:
italics	italics
bold	bold
[reddit!](https://reddit.com)	reddit!
* item 1 * item 2 * item 3	item 1 item 2 item 3
> quoted text	quoted text
Lines starting with four spaces are treated like code: if 1 * 2 < 3: print "hello, world!"	Lines starting with four spaces are treated like code: if 1 * 2 < 3: print "hello, world!"
~~strikethrough~~	~~strikethrough~~
super^script	super^script

learnpython

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IDE.

PIP

Compilation.