hello world in python

The simplest program in Python consists of a line that tells the computer a command. Traditionally, the first program of every programmer in every new language prints "Hello, World!". Start up your favorite editor and save the following into a file:

 print "Hello, World!" 

To execute this program, save it with a suffix of '.py' (e.g., HelloWorld.py) and type 'python' and the filename in a shell like this:

 > python HelloWorld.py 

The output is predictable:

Hello, World!

If you prefer to execute it by its name, instead of as an argument to the Python interpreter, put a "bang" line at the top. Include the following on the first line of the program, substituting the absolute path to the Python interpreter for /'path/to/python':

 #!/path/to/python 

Be sure to give change the permission on the file to allows execution, if necessary for your operating system.

Now, let's take this program and embellish it a bit.