Getting started with Python
Chances are that you already have some version of Python installed on your machine, especially if you have a Mac. For the purposes of this exercise, we will be downloading Python 3 onto our Windows machine. At the time of writing this book, Python 3.5.1 is available for download; however, for the purposes of this book, we will go with the more reliable version, 3.4.4.
Downloading and installing Python
Similar to R, Python has a dedicated website for downloading appropriate versions of Python: https://www.python.org/downloads/
Once the executable file has been downloaded, run it to get the installation process started, as shown in the following screenshot:
Select the appropriate directory for the installation of Python 3.4.4. When asked to customize Python during the installation, allow all the features to be selected, especially Add python.exe to Path, as this function will allow you to just type python in a command prompt without having to type in the full path...
