The Terminal

The terminal (or command line) is a powerful tool that allows you to interact with your computer directly using text commands. You’ll often use it while working with Python for running scripts, managing files, and installing packages.

What is the Terminal?

The terminal is a text-based interface where you can:

Navigate your file system.
Run programs and scripts.
Perform administrative tasks.
Manage packages and environments.

Common Terminal Names:

Windows: Command Prompt or PowerShell.
macOS: Terminal.
Linux: Terminal or Shell.

Opening the Terminal

Windows: Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter, or search for “PowerShell” in the Start menu.
macOS: Press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, and press Enter.
Linux: Look for “Terminal” in your applications menu or press Ctrl + Alt + T.

Basic Commands

Here are some essential terminal commands:

Command	Description
`pwd`	Print the current working directory.
`ls` (Linux/macOS) or `dir` (Windows)	List files and directories in the current directory.
`cd <directory>`	Change to a specific directory.
`mkdir <name>`	Create a new directory.
`rm <file>`	Remove a file.
`rmdir <directory>`	Remove an empty directory.
`touch <file>`	Create a new file (Linux/macOS).

Example:

# Navigate to Desktop
cd Desktop

# Create a folder called "python_course"
mkdir python_course

# Change into the folder
cd python_course

# Create a file
touch hello.py

Running Python in the Terminal

Once Python is installed, you can use the terminal to run Python code.

Open the terminal.
Type python (or python3 on some systems) and press Enter.

You’ll see the Python interactive shell:

Python 3.x.x (default, ...)
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

Type Python commands directly, like:

>>> print("Hello, Python!")
Hello, Python!

To exit the Python shell, type:

exit()

Running Python Scripts

Instead of typing code interactively, you can run Python scripts saved in files:

Save your script (e.g., script.py).
Navigate to its location in the terminal using cd.
Run the script with:
```
python script.py
```

Practice Exercises

Open the terminal and navigate to your Desktop.
Create a folder called python_practice.
Inside the folder, create a file called hello_world.py.
Write a Python script to print “Hello, World!” and run it using the terminal.

With these basics, you’re ready to use the terminal like a pro!

Next Lesson: Comments