Why learn Python. A classic that never goes out of style.

The offer of open source programming languages ​​is almost as abundant as those of Markdown publishers (and these should be declared pandemic by the WHO) SIf you are wondering which one to learn as a hobby or to develop your own applications, this situation can be confusing. However, the answer to your questions only has two syllables; Python.

Why learn Python

There is probably a programming language that does better each of the things that can be done with Python, but, it is never the same. With Python you can create applications for all desktop and mobile operating systems. It is used to program games, do scientific research or programs for financial use. Its extensive list of pre-programmed modules saves a lot of programming time. And, if you Google or Stack Overflow, someone has probably made an app that does what you want to do and you just have to copy and adapt.

To emphasize the importance of this programming language, it is enough to mention that Microsoft is recruiting prominent developers, including language creator Guido Van Rossum himself. Rumor has it that Python would replace VBA as the scripting language in the company's office suite.

Tools to start programming in Python

If you have an up-to-date Linux distribution, you don't need anything else to program in Python. Of course having an integrated development environment with Python support will help you a lot, but you can get by with the terminal and the text editor.

To check the installed version of Python open the terminal and type:
python3 -V

You can check which is the latest version available in the download page of the project.

As is often the case with regularly updated Linux distributions, the latest version is not always available. In general, differences within the same branch do not usually justify manual installation. But, if you like to be up-to-date, you can do it in the following way.

The web automatically detects the operating system and shows you the version that corresponds. Make a note of the version number because you will have to replace them with Xs in the commands in this tutorial.

Debian / Ubuntu and Derivatives

We install the necessary dependencies
sudo apt install gcc openssl-devel bzip2-devel libffi-devel zlib-devel
We go to the directory where we save the Python installer
cd Descargas

Unzip the folder.
tar -xvf Python-X.X.X.tar.xz
We go to the directory where the installation files were unzipped

cd Python-X.X.X

We launch the configuration script.

./configure --enable-optimizations
We start the compilation process

make

sudo make install

CentOS / RHEL / Fedora

Installation of the necessary dependencies
sudo dnf install gcc openssl-devel bzip2-devel libffi-devel zlib-devel
We go to the directory where we save the Python installer
cd Descargas

Unzip the folder where the files are.
tar -xvf Python-X.X.X.tar.xz
We change to the directory where the installation files were unzipped

cd Python-X.X.X
We launch the configuration script

./configure --enable-optimizations
We start the compilation procedure

sudo make altinstall

Choosing an integrated development environment

In all cases you can verify the update with the command
python3 -V

The offer of integrated development environments for Python on Linux is wide and it is up to you to find which one is most comfortable for you.. We are going to focus on open code proposals that are also free.

PyCharm Community

It is a tool created by Python programmers for Pyth programmerson. It offers features such as code autocompletion, code analysis to detect errors and correct them automatically.

It is available in stores Snap, flat pack and from la web from the developer.

PyCharmEdu

From the developers themselves, it allows you to learn and teach Python interactively. You can install it from the store Snap and from the web site.

VS Codium

When Microsoft decided to go for open source and seduce developers, it released Visual Studio Code. VS Code is an integrated development environment with support for multiple programming languages ​​and a gigantic plugin repositories. I said above that the company had hired several Python developers, one of them was the creator of the most popular Python plugins for VS Code, therefore we can say that Python plays locally.

However, old feelings don't go away. Many continue to distrust Microsoft. For them, it is Codium. This is the source code from VS Code but without any of the Microsoft add-ons. Codium is absolutely compatible with all plugins and has the same features as the original.

It is available in the store Snap, flat pack y  en su web