Prerequisites

• Operating System : Ubuntu 18

Steps

Note: By default most Ubuntu 18 system have Python installed.

01. Open a terminal window

02. Check if Python is already installed. Execute the following to determine.

$ python
$ python2.7

A message will be shown if Python is available. In the following case, it is not yet installed.

03. Update the package list

$ sudo apt-get update

04. Wait for the operation to complete. Then run the command to install Python 2.7.  This also works for lower version of Python like 2.4.

$ sudo apt-get install python2.7

 
05. Verify that Python is installed by accessing the Python shell.

$ python2.7

06. Execute a Python application by checking the current time

>>> from datetime import datetime
>>> datetime.now()

07. You have now installed Python on your system.

Commands Mode Only

# At a CLI interface
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install python 2.7

# Verify using Python Shell
$ python 2.7
>>> from datetime import datetime
>>> datetime.now()
>>> exit()</span>

Benefits of Python

• Easier syntax compared with other programming languages
• Less coding, less boiler-plate code, compared with other languages
• Readability, closer to pseudo-code
• Object-oriented programming, same concepts as other OOP languages
• Free.