Installing Python solved by 56495

Why Python?

Rosalind problems can be solved using any programming language. Our language of choice is Python. Why? Because it's simple, powerful, and even funny. You'll see what we mean.

If you don't already have Python software, please download and install the appropriate version for your platform (Windows, Linux or Mac OS X). Please install Python of version 2.x (not 3.x) — it has more libraries support and many well-written guides.

After completing installation, launch IDLE (default Python development environment; it's usually installed with Python, however you may need to install it separately on Linux).

You'll see a window containing three arrows, like so:

>>>

The three arrows are Python's way of saying that it is ready to serve your every need. You are in interactive mode, meaning that any command you type will run immediately. Try typing 1+1 and see what happens.

Of course, to become a Rosalind pro, you will need to write programs having more than one line. So select File → New Window from the IDLE menu. You can now type code as you would into a text editor. For example, type the following:

print "Hello, World!"

Select File → Save to save your creation with an appropriate name (e.g., hello.py).

To run your program, select Run → Run Module. You'll see the result in the interactive mode window (Python Shell).

Congratulations! You just ran your first program in Python!

Problem

After downloading and installing Python, type import this into the Python command line and see what happens. Then, click the "Download dataset" button below and copy the Zen of Python into the space provided.