Module 1 · Your first program Lesson 1 of 15
Meet your tools
Python is the language; you still need a place to write it and a place to run it. We set up one on your computer and one in the browser, so a shared or college machine is never a blocker.
The concept
A programming language is not a program. Python is the language; you still need a place to write it and a place to run it. If those two things are not set up, every later lesson turns into a fight with the computer instead of a lesson about code — which is why this is lesson one and not an appendix.
Install Python 3 from python.org, taking the box that says "Add Python to PATH" — if you miss it, the command below will not be found and nothing else will work. Then open a terminal (Command Prompt or PowerShell on Windows, Terminal on a Mac) and type python --version. Seeing a version number means the tool is in place. Write your code in a plain text editor — VS Code if you can install it — save the file as hello.py, and run it with python hello.py. That loop, write then run, is the whole job for the next six weeks.
Common mistakes
If no computer is available for a few days, use an online Python editor in the browser and keep going — but plan for a real machine, because the last three modules of this course save and read files. The mistake that stops most people is skipping the awkward setup step, running something once in a browser tab, and never building the habit of running code they wrote themselves.
Worked example
A first session looks like this: type print("Hi, I am learning Python") into a file called hello.py, save it, and run python hello.py in the terminal.
Your practice task
Install Python 3, create hello.py, print your own name and city, and paste the output into your learning notes.
Do this before moving on. Reading a solution teaches the shape of it; typing it teaches you.
Key takeaway
A programming language is not a program.
Keep your place in this course
A free account saves which lessons you have finished and unlocks the certificate. The lesson itself stays free to read.
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Almost there
15 lessons left of 15
Finish every lesson to unlock the certificate. Each one ends in a practice task — do them and the final project brief writes itself.