Quick step to initial Python project

Starting a new Python project is quick once you know the steps. First, you’ll need Python 3. There are a few easy ways to get it:

• The official installer at https://www.python.org/downloads/

• A package manager like Homebrew on macOS, or apt-get on Linux.

Got Python 3 ready? Let’s set up a project.

Create a Python virtual environment

I like to keep each project’s dependencies separate, so I always start with a virtual environment:

mkdir my-python-app
python3 -m venv my-python-app

Activate the virtual environment

Now turn it on:

source my-python-app/bin/activate

Once it’s active, your Terminal prompt changes to something like this:

(my-python-app) $

From here, any python3 or pip3 command you run stays inside this environment.

For example, let’s install the boto3 package:

(my-python-app) $ pip3 install boto3

Hello Python World

Time for a quick “Hello World”. Create a new file called main.py:

(my-python-app) $ vim main.py

And drop in this code:

def main():
    print("Hello World")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Then run it:

(my-python-app) $ python3 main.py

Deactivate the virtual environment

When you’re done, just switch it off:

(my-python-app) $ deactivate

Happy coding !