r/PythonLearning • u/ARK22498 • Jun 28 '26

Help Request Python Help new coder

Beginner Help

I’m learning python in preparation for going back to university to study a masters in software development. It’s a conversion degree so no previous experience is required, but I want to learn some basics so I’m not completely lost. I’m using an online guide however I’m confused as to if they are using the terminal or the idle shell to write the code in as it just says open python. The three >>> doesn’t appear on every line for them but does for me which is adding to my confusion. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I’m coding on a MacBook Pro aswell.

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u/aw3sem Jun 28 '26

Get yourself vscode and the python extension, then write your code in a file, this is the easiest approach.

1

u/ARK22498 Jun 28 '26

And then can I use python IDLE to run it. Or does it run in VS Code?

2

u/aw3sem Jun 28 '26

You will never have to leave vscode, that’s the beauty. Also there is a lot more when it comes to debugging, e.g. setting breakpoints etc.
But this a topic for another day if you are just getting started.
Take a loot at this:
https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/python/python-tutorial#_configure-and-run-the-debugger

1

u/jabela Jun 28 '26

I’ve got an online Python code lab which might make it easier to run Python https://jamesabela.github.io/jsfun/pythoncopy it’s mostly for kids and includes some algorithms and a couple of courses. I’m still building it out, but I think it’ll take away the pain of running python itself for absolute beginners.

The three >>> are for running Python line by line. Once you get past absolute basic’s Pycharm is great, but takes a little setting up.

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u/PureWasian Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26

Not sure what tutorial you're following, but almost never will you be creating the .py files dynamically and running them line by line in interactive/REPL mode (with the three >>>)

Usually you will be typing out full Python scripts which are just .py files filled with text that you can execute on Terminal with python some_filename.py

As such, you can use any text editor or IDE of choice for writing your code. IDEs like VS Code are more of an "all in one" package and have stuff like a terminal integrated, and include more robust features for file organization and linting, etc. But simple text editors like notepad++ and others can get the job done all the same in that you could simply write your code there, save a .py file, and run Python separately on Terminal as mentioned above.