Running Pythons in Windows

by K. Yue

1. Organizing Windows for Python Development

• This is about a simple setup of Python development in Windows using text editors.
• It does not include the uses of Integrated Development Environment (IDE), such as PyCharm, VS Code, etc.
• It does not include the uses of Python platforms (such as for Web development, Graphical User Interface (GUI) appications of data science).

Command Prompt

• The Command Prompt in Windows is a Command Line Interface (CLI) for executing commands to interact with the operating systems.
• In Mac and Linux, it is known as a command terminal or terminal.

Project Directory

• It is beneficial to create a directory for a project.
• For example, for this course, you may create a folder: Documents\uhcl\csci1470, and put all files related to CSCI 1470 there.
• You may create additional subfolder for better organization.

Working Directory

• A working directory, ore current working directory (CWD), is the specific location within a computer's file system where commands are executed, such as in the command prompt.
• It is a common practice to set the working directory to the appropriate folder of your project directory. For example, you may then use relative file names.

2. Running Python in Windows

2.1 Python Interpreter

• To start the Python interpreter, open a command line prompt in your working directory and execute, for example:

set path=C:\Python311;%path%
python

• You may need to replace "C:\Python311" by the location of your python installation.
• You may set the environmental variable PATH in your OS. If so, you will not need to execute the set path command.

2.2 Python IDLE

• Integrated Development and Learning Environment  (IDLE) is a bundled Python environment for simple development and learning.
• It is a simple Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

Running Python Program

• To run a Python program, helloworld.py, in a command line prompt (in the project directory), use:

python helloworld.py