Summary

In this chapter, we started to explore the world of programming and that of Python. We've barely scratched the surface, just a little, touching concepts that will be discussed later on in the book in greater detail.

We talked about Python's main features, who is using it and for what, and what are the different ways in which we can write a Python program.

In the last part of the chapter, we flew over the fundamental notions of namespaces, scopes, classes, and objects. We also saw how Python code can be organized using modules and packages.

On a practical level, we learned how to install Python on our system, how to make sure we have the tools we need, pip and virtualenv, and we also created and activated our first virtual environment. This will allow us to work in a self-contained environment without the risk of compromising the Python system installation.

Now you're ready to start this journey with me. All you need is enthusiasm, an activated virtual environment, this book, your fingers, and some coffee.

Try to follow the examples; I'll keep them simple and short. If you put them under your fingertips, you will retain them much better than if you just read them.

In the next chapter, we will explore Python's rich set of built-in data types. There's much to cover and much to learn!