Introduction to Programming
with Python
Md. Shymon Islam
Lecturer
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet
What is Python?
Python is a popular programming language. It was created by
Guido van Rossum, and released in 1991.
It is used for:
• web development
• software development
• mathematics
• system scripting
What can Python do?
• Python can be used on a server to create web applications.
• Python can be used alongside software to create workflows.
• Python can connect to database systems. It can also read
and modify files.
• Python can be used to handle big data and perform complex
mathematics.
• Python can be used for rapid prototyping, or for
production-ready software development.
Why Python?
• Python works on different platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux,
Raspberry Pi, etc).
• Python has a simple syntax similar to the English language.
• Python has syntax that allows developers to write programs with
fewer lines than some other programming languages.
• Python runs on an interpreter system, meaning that code can be
executed as soon as it is written. This means that prototyping can be
very quick.
• Python can be treated in a procedural way, an object-oriented way or
a functional way.
Good to know
• he most recent major version of Python is Python 3, which
we shall be using in this tutorial. However, Python 2,
although not being updated with anything other than
security updates, is still quite popular.
• It is possible to write Python in an Integrated Development
Environment, such as Thonny, Pycharm, Netbeans, Jupyter
Notebook or Eclipse which are particularly useful when
managing larger collections of Python files.
Python Syntax compared to other programming languages
• Python was designed for readability, and has some similarities
to the English language with influence from mathematics.
• Python uses new lines to complete a command, as opposed to
other programming languages which often use semicolons or
parentheses.
• Python relies on indentation, using whitespace, to define
scope; such as the scope of loops, functions and classes. Other
programming languages often use curly-brackets for this
purpose.
Python Indentation
• Indentation refers to the spaces at the beginning of a code
line.
• Where in other programming languages the indentation in
code is for readability only, the indentation in Python is
very important.
• Python uses indentation to indicate a block of code.
Python Indentation (Example)
Right Syntax:
Syntax Error:
Python Indentation (Example)
This is also ok.
Python Indentation (Example)
This will give an error….
Use the same number of spaces in the same block of code,
otherwise Python will give you an error
Python Comments
• Comments can be used to explain Python code.
• Comments can be used to make the code more readable.
• Comments can be used to prevent execution when testing
code.
Creating a Comment
Comments start with a #, and python will ignore them.
One way:
Another way:
Multiline Comments
One Way:
Another way:
Python Variables
Variables are containers for storing data values.
Creating Variables
• Python has no command for declaring a variable.
• A variable is created the moment you first assign a value to it.
Python Variables (Example)
Python Variables (Casting)
Python Variables (Get the Type)
Python Variables (Single or Double
Quotes?)
Python Variables (Case-Sensitive)
