

The Windows installer lets you specify the target directory. If you’re the only user on the system, you might want to place Python in a higher-level directory (e.g. Python installs on Windows in much the same way as any other application, by way of an installer that guides you through the setup process.īy default the Python installer for Windows places its executables in the user’s AppData directory, so that it doesn’t require administrative permissions. The only time you should choose the 32-bit version of Python is if you’re stuck with a 32-bit version of Windows, or you need to use a third-party module that is available only in a 32-bit edition. Some are available only in 64-bit versions. 64-bit applications don’t have this limit, hence many data analysis and machine learning tools for Python work best in 64-bit incarnations.

(You might want to investigate other Python distributions later, since they address specific use cases you might have, but we won’t consider them here.) Again, this is the safest and most broadly compatible distribution, the one nobody gets fired for picking. Unlike Linux, though, Python offers one, gold-standard, “official” edition you can always fall back on: CPython, the version provided by the Python Software Foundation at. Python also comes in a variety of distributions, in much the same way Linux does. You can always try out the most recent version of Python in a controlled way - e.g., in a VM or a test machine - but going one version back guarantees the best compatibility with common third-party Python packages.
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The safe bet, then, is to use the latest update of Python 3.7 (in this case, Python 3.7.6). Choose the right Python version and distributionįor the sake of compatibility with third-party modules, it is always safest to choose a Python version that is one major point revision behind the current one.Īt the time of this writing, Python 3.8.1 is the most current version.
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In this article we’ll walk through how to set up Python the right way: how to pick the appropriate version, how to keep multiple versions from stepping on one another, and how to avoid all of the other sharp edges and potential pitfalls along the way. But it is still a piece of software like any other, meaning it can be complex to set up and manage. Python is easy to use, friendly to the beginner, and powerful enough to create robust software with for nearly any application.
