Editing OSX Python scripts
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# | We are going to practice writing and running Python programs (often called "scripts"). | ||
===Start your text editor=== | |||
# Launch the Visual Studio Code text editor. | |||
# Start a new, blank text file. | |||
===Write and save a short Python script=== | |||
# Add the following line to your new text file: | |||
<pre> | |||
print("Hello World!") | |||
</pre> | |||
# Save the script as <code>hello.py</code> in your home directory. The <code>.py</code> extension indicates that this file contains Python code. | |||
===Run the script=== | |||
# Start a terminal prompt. See the [[OSX terminal navigation|terminal navigation on OS X]] instructions for the steps to do this. A terminal prompt will look like <code>$</code> and a Python prompt will look like <code>>>></code>. Make sure you are at a terminal prompt and not a Python prompt. If you are at a Python prompt, you can type <code>exit()</code> on a line by itself and then press enter to exit Python and return to a terminal prompt. | |||
# Navigate to your home directory from a terminal prompt, using the <code>ls</code>, <code>pwd</code>, and <code>cd</code> commands. See the [[OSX terminal navigation|terminal navigation on OS X]] instructions for a refresher on using these commands. Don't hesitate to get help from a mentor on this step if you need it -- it's a new way of navigating your computer, so it may be unintuitive at first! | |||
# Once you are in your home directory, you'll see <code>hello.py</code> in the output of <code>ls</code>. | |||
# Type | |||
<pre> | |||
python hello.py | |||
</pre> | |||
and press enter. Doing this will cause Python to execute the contents of that script -- it should print "Hello World!" to the screen. What you've done here is run the Python application with an argument -- the name of a file, in this case "hello.py". Python knows that when you give it a file name as an argument, it should execute the contents of the provided file. You get the same result as if you typed | |||
<pre> | |||
print("Hello World!") | |||
</pre> | |||
at a Python prompt and press enter. | |||
===Success=== | |||
You created and ran your first Python script! | |||
* When you run the <code>python</code> command by itself, you start a Python prompt. You can execute Python code interactively at that prompt. | |||
* When you run the <code>python</code> command with a file name as an argument, Python executes the Python code in that file. | |||
[[File:Champagne.png|100px]][[File:Party.png|125px]] | |||
[[Category:CDSW]] |