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Tamara-Lovs-MacBook-Pro:~ Tamara$
Tamara-Lovs-MacBook-Pro:~ Tamara$ 1+1
-bash: 1+1: command not found

That is what comes up when I open the terminal.

Tamara Lov is the name my Mac is registered under. I played around with some preferences but don't know to use it.

slhck
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tamara
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1 Answers1

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When you open your Terminal, you will land in a so-called shell. In this case, bash is the default shell which comes with OS X and it is started for you. Bash doesn't know the command 1+1.

To actually use python, you will have to start the python interpreter first. Do that with:

python

Now you can enter your live scripts.

enter image description here

If you write some scripts using a text editor, you can run them from bash by calling the following (for example, if your script is saved under Documents):

python /Users/Tamara/Documents/your-script.py
slhck
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  • how do i open python? i thought the terminal automatically opens python. – tamara Nov 30 '11 at 23:25
  • No. The terminal automatically opens a shell for you, which you can use to open python. Python is just a program like many many others, it wouldn't make sense for a terminal just to open Python. You open Python by entering python in your shell. – slhck Nov 30 '11 at 23:27
  • that's amazing! it works! i didn't have this last time i opened the terminal- i dk why it automatically went into python... thank you so much, i really appreciate you helping me out. this is my first time using such a forum! – tamara Nov 30 '11 at 23:32
  • I'm glad to help. It could be that you've set up terminal to automatically start python – but that's something you would have had to manually set. – slhck Nov 30 '11 at 23:34
  • hi- sorry i have another question. – tamara Dec 01 '11 at 01:52
  • im just at the phase of playing around with python. doing simple things like adding integars and strings. so for instance when i assign variable, like x=3*5. how can i change the variable after? also where do i write the code? – tamara Dec 01 '11 at 01:54
  • also how did you copy and paste a picture of the terminal above? – tamara Dec 01 '11 at 01:55
  • basically i think im asking is where do i "practice" the run before i put it into python in order to run module? – tamara Dec 01 '11 at 02:13
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    @Tamara Comment are not a chat. We do have an actual chat room though, the link is at the very top of the page. Regarding your questions, consider reading up on the topic first. Your questions are both off topic on this site (we don't do programming questions outside a computer user context) and show a certain lack of understanding the basics – reading programming introductions will help you better than posting a string of trivial (for more advanced users) questions. – Daniel Beck Dec 01 '11 at 06:25
  • @Daniel- you don't have to be rude. I did not know these "rules" for asking questions and if everybody found my questions unfit then they don't have to answer it, it's ok. I can look elsewhere. Spend some more time speaking to human beings as opposed to interacting with computers. – tamara Dec 01 '11 at 18:53
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    @tamara > how can i change the variable after? also where do i write the code? – Please read a Python tutorial, as Daniel advised you. This is very basic programming. You normally write code from a text editor such as TextWrangler, save it to a file, and then execute this file with the python + filename command. – slhck Dec 01 '11 at 19:33
  • @tamara Inserting pictures in posts should be easy. There's a formatting help in the editor that explains you how to do it. Getting a screenshot on a Mac, see here. Also, I don't think Daniel was being rude. He just pointed out that comments shouldn't be used like chat (because we have a chat). Nobody finds your question unfit here, but remember that on all Stack sites, off-topic questions can be closed, and bad questions can be downvoted, so please take a minute and read our [FAQ] to avoid any misunderstandings. – slhck Dec 01 '11 at 19:35
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    @tamara You're using comments like a real-time chat, sending four where one would suffice, perhaps not knowing that slhck is separately informed about every one of them. I just try to make you aware of it and offer alternatives, both to the comments and your problem more generally. I've used Dive into Python a few years back and found it helpful. If my comment still comes across as rude, bear in mind that this is written communication only; and English is a second language for many users on this site, including me, and outside a school or web context, many haven't had the chance to use it. – Daniel Beck Dec 02 '11 at 06:10
  • @tamara It is very frustrating to see one's posts deleted, or closed as unfit, and not being told what the problem is and it's a frequent complaint by many affected users. So whenever I see something on this site I consider off-topic, I let the users know the reasons. As a long-time active user, I am frequently right about this, judging similar to moderators. Would you instead prefer someone flagging your comments for moderator attention as too chatty (that's an actual reason!) or off topic, not letting your know about it and leaving you wondering why your stuff was deleted or closed? – Daniel Beck Dec 02 '11 at 06:18