Installing Python - Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python - page 2

fun computer programs!)
In this topic, any words you need to know will look like this . For example, the word
"program" is defined in the previous paragraph.
In order to tell a computer what you want it to do, you write a program in a language that
the computer understands. The programming language this topic teaches is named Python.
There are many different programming languages including BASIC, Java, Python, Pascal,
Haskell, and C++ (pronounced, "c plus plus").
When I was a kid most people learned to program in BASIC as their first language. But
new programming languages have been invented since then, including Python. Python is
even easier to learn than BASIC and it's a serious programming language used by
professional computer programmers. Many adults use Python in their work (and when
programming just for fun).
The first few games we'll create together in this topic will probably seem simple
compared to the games you've played on the Xbox, Playstation, or Wii. They don't have
fancy graphics or music but that's because they're meant to teach you the basics. They're
purposely simple so that we can focus on learning to program. Games don't have to be
complicated to be fun. Hangman, Tic Tac Toe, and making secret codes are simple to
program but are also fun.
We'll also learn how to make the computer solve some math problems in the Python
shell. (Don't worry if you don't know a lot of mathematics. If you know how to add and
multiply, you know enough math to do programming. Programming is more about problem
solving in general than it is about solving math problems.)
Downloading and Installing Python
Before we can begin programming you'll need to install the Python software; specifically
the Python interpreter. (You may need to ask an adult for help here.) The interpreter is a
program that understands the instructions that you'll write in the Python language. Without
the interpreter, your computer won't understand these instructions and your programs won't
work. (We'll just refer to "the Python interpreter" as "Python" from now on.)
Because we'll be writing our games in the Python language, we need to download Python
first, from the official website of the Python programming language,
http://www.python.org
I'm going to give you instructions for installing Python on Microsoft Windows, not
because that's my favorite operating system but because chances are that's the operating
system that your computer is running. You might want the help of someone else to
download and install the Python software.
When you get to python.org, you should see a list of links on the left (About, News,
Documentation, Download, and so on.) Click on the Download link to go to the download