Two Ways Of Interacting
With Python
• We can use Python in two modes:
• Interactive Mode
• Script Mode
1. In Interactive Mode, Python waits for us to enter command.
2. In Script mode, Python interpreter runs a program from the
source file.
1. The Interactive Mode
• Python interpreter in
interactive mode is commonly
known as Python Shell.
• To start the Python Shell enter
the following command in the
command prompt:
• python
• Doing this will activate the Python
Shell and now we can use it for
running python statements or
commands
The Interactive Mode
• What we have seen on the previous slide is called Python
Shell.
• >>> is known as python prompt or prompt string,
and it simply means that Python Shell is ready to accept
our commands.
• Python Shell allows us to type Python code and see the
result immediately.
The Interactive Mode
• In technical jargon this is also known as REPL which
stands for Read-Eval-Print-Loop.
• Whenever we hear REPL we should think of an
environment which allows us to quickly test code snippets
and see results immediately, just like a Calculator.
• Some examples of commands / code snippets to be run on
shell are shown in the next slide
The Interactive Mode
The Interactive Mode
• Not only mathematical calculations , we also can run
some basic python commands on Python Shell
• For example: Type the following command:
• print(“Hello Bhopal”)
• And you will get the text displayed on the Shell
The Interactive Mode
• We must remember that Python is also a case sensitive
language like C or C++ .
• So the function names must appear in lower case ,
otherwise Python generates Syntax Error , as shown
below
Getting Help From Shell
• We can also use help on Shell for getting information
on Python topics.
• To do this we need to type help( ) on the prompt string
on the Shell
Getting Help From Shell
• Now we get help on various Python topics .
• For example to get a list of all the available keywords in
Python , we can write the command “keywords”
Quitting Help
• To come out of help mode , we just have to strike
ENTER key on the prompt
Quitting Shell
• To come out of Python Shell , we have to type the
command exit( ) or quit( ) on the prompt string