DCubes
Python module

Getting started

Your Python practice environment

Install Python 3.11+ on Windows, macOS, or Linux. This site never runs Python — you will.

beginner40 minRun on your machine

What you will be able to do

  • Install or confirm Python 3.11+ so python3 and pip work in your terminal
  • Run a one-line script and see the output
  • Create the ~/dcubes/python-lab folder used in every later lesson

Why this exists

Data jobs are Python scripts in a controlled environment: extract, transform, load, score. A website that ran Python for you would not teach the skill. You type. Your machine runs Python.

Do Linux Getting Started and Docker Getting Started first if you do not yet have a prompt, ~/dcubes, and Compose. This page adds Python next to that prompt.

Pick your operating system

Open the section that matches how you practiced Linux and Docker.

Windows — WSL (Ubuntu)

You already have Ubuntu in WSL. Install Python inside Ubuntu, not only on Windows.

1. Update and install

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --yes python3 python3-venv python3-pip

2. Check versions

python3 --version
python3 -m pip --version

What you should see: Python 3.10 or newer (3.11+ preferred). Ubuntu 22.04 often ships 3.10; 24.04 ships 3.12. Either works for this module.

If python3 is missing, the apt install failed — re-read the error before installing from a random website.

3. How to come back tomorrow

Open the Ubuntu app (same window as Linux/Docker). You do not reinstall.

macOS — Homebrew or python.org

Option A — Homebrew (recommended if you already use brew)

brew install python@3.12

Then:

python3 --version
python3 -m pip --version

Option B — Official installer

  1. Open python.org downloads for macOS.
  2. Install a 3.11 or 3.12 package from that page (not a random mirror).
  3. Open Terminal and run the version checks above.

Homebrew and the official installer both put python3 on your PATH. Prefer one path and stick to it for this module.

Linux desktop — apt

Ubuntu or Debian as your actual desktop (not WSL):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --yes python3 python3-venv python3-pip
python3 --version
python3 -m pip --version

On Fedora, the same idea is sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip. Later lessons use python3 and python3 -m venv.

VirtualBox Ubuntu VM

If you used the VirtualBox Ubuntu fallback, install inside the VM, same as Linux desktop above.

Ready checklist

From the same terminal you use for Linux and Docker, run these one at a time.

python3 --version

You want 3.10+ (ideally 3.11 or 3.12). Version text will not match the example exactly. That is success.

python3 -m pip --version

You should see a pip version and a path under your Python install.

python3 -c "print('dcubes-python-ok')"
dcubes-python-ok

Create the lab folder

Every Python lesson uses this directory:

mkdir -p ~/dcubes/python-lab
cd ~/dcubes/python-lab
pwd

You should see a path ending in python-lab.

First file

cd ~/dcubes/python-lab
cat > hello.py << 'EOF'
print("hello from python-lab")
EOF
python3 hello.py
hello from python-lab

Optional: Python in Docker

You already know images. A job might use python:3.12-slim later. This module installs Python on the host (or WSL) so editing and venvs stay simple. Packaging scripts in images comes after you can run them locally.

Common mistakes

  • Using Windows python from PowerShell while lessons assume Ubuntu. Stay in the WSL Ubuntu terminal for this module.
  • Python 2 leftovers. Always type python3, not bare python, unless python --version already shows 3.x.
  • Skipping python3-venv. On Debian/Ubuntu, venv is a separate package. Install it now if apt did not.
  • Installing from a blog curl | bash. Use apt, Homebrew, or python.org only.

Next

Why Python for data and AI

Why Python for data and AI →