In a nutshell, Python is a popular and powerful programming language that is easy to learn.
You write programs in Python to instruct your computer, telling it what to do. You can make your machine calculate things for you, solve problems, and automate tasks. You can also build programs meant for other people to interact with and use.
There are many programming languages, such as C, Java, PHP, Ruby, and JavaScript. These differ in their use-cases, level of abstraction, difficulty, speed, and much else besides.
Python stands out from the other languages by being more concise and beginner-friendly, but no less powerful. This makes Python a good language for first-time programmers.
Here's a quote from What is Python? At python.org:
Often, programmers fall in love with Python because of the increased productivity it provides.
Python is easy to be highly productive in since it is so concise. You can often do in one line of Python code what would take five or ten lines in another language.
If you're a beginner, the answer is yes. Python is usually recommended as a first language because it is easy to learn and useful for a wide variety of tasks. Even if you are not a beginner, Python is a useful tool to have in any programmer's toolbox.
You can find more reasons to start with Python in the blog post Why learn Python first?.
Python is a general-purpose language, which means that you can do almost anything with it. For example, you could:
For more detailed information, see the blog post What can you do with Python?
The fastest way to learn programming is with lots of practice. Learn a programming concept, then write code to test your understanding and make it stick. Try our online interactive Python course today—it's free!
Python Principles