When it comes to learning a new language, one of the last thing one wants to worry about is downloading it to their machine.
That’s a reason why online programs like Codecademy are great—because they allow you to write code and see the output right on the website. At the same time, online tutorials as such don’t exactly provide the best real-world environments. That’s why I think it’s beneficial to install Python on your device and learn in a real way.
But What Version Do I Install!?
Trust me, this confuses me, too. But I realize at the end of the day the minor differences in the releases is probably unnoticeable. However, according to Python.org:
The current production versions are Python 3.4.0 and Python 2.7.6.
Start with one of these versions for learning Python or if you want the most stability; they’re both considered stable production releases.
If you don’t know which version to use, try Python 3.4. Some existing third-party software is not yet compatible with Python 3; if you need to use such software, you can download Python 2.7.x instead.
So, according to Python.org, you should be using 3.4.0 or 2.7.6.
There are also differences between the Windows v.s. Mac operating systems. Fortunately, this video from Udacity provides great step-by-step instructions for installing Python (version 2.7.6) on both Windows and Mac machines.
For more information on installing Python, here is detailed Wiki documentation.
Want to master Python?
Then download my list of favorite Python learning resources.