Python Basics

Python is a scripting language: the interpreter reads your code from top to bottom and executes each instruction in the order it appears. There is no separate compilation step — you write a line, run it, and see the result immediately.

A helpful mental model is a traditional calculator: type an expression, press run, get the answer.

1 + 1      # → 2
3 * (4 + 1)  # → 15

More advanced functionality (plotting, data analysis) comes from additional libraries imported with the import statement. Basic arithmetic, however, is built into the language itself.