Introduction to Python

Python can be used as a calculator

1 + 1

## 2

2-3

## -1

6 / 2

## 3.0

3 * 4

## 12

Since Python is so widely used, there are many people who contribute to continuously improving and developing it. Let’s imagine Python as a base version. It can do basic calculations, but it requires extra efforts to do more complicated things. People have created extras or add-ons to help create shortcuts for more complicated specific tasks or functions. These ‘add-ons’ are called packages. Packages can be imported to use to help make things easier. For example, there is a Python package called math that helps with basic mathematical operations. Let’s look at an example here of calling the package using the import command.

import math
math.sqrt(9)

## 3.0

Once it has been imported, it does not need to be re-imported for the rest of this document. You can also import multiple packages within the same document. We will get into more useful packages later on!

math.log(100)

## 4.605170185988092

For now, practice typing basic calculations into your Python terminal to get used to the syntax, and see how easy it is to calculate things!