Appendix B. Running Programs

If you have a program open in IDLE’s file editor, running it is a simple matter of pressing F5 or selecting the Run▸Run Module menu item. This is an easy way to run programs while writing them, but opening IDLE to run your finished programs can be a burden. There are more convenient ways to execute Python scripts.

Shebang Line

The first line of all your Python programs should be a shebang line, which tells your computer that you want Python to execute this program. The shebang line begins with #!, but the rest depends on your operating system.

  • On Windows, the shebang line is #! python3.

  • On OS X, the shebang line is #! /usr/bin/env python3.

  • On Linux, the shebang line is #! /usr/bin/python3.

You will be able to run Python ...

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