Python

For me Python (Welcome to Python.org) has become my scripting language of choice. I find it is easy to read and certainly less cryptic than Perl and it is cross platform, so I can develop on Windows and deploy to Linux in production. A joy to work with. A great place to start is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Python! — The Hitchhiker's Guide to Python, closely followed by the Python Wiki and BeginnersGuide - Python Wiki and A new video series for beginners to learn Python programming - Open Source Blog.

The official documentation is at Our Documentation | Python.org, from where it is also well worth checking out the Python Frequently Asked Questions — Python 3 documentation.

Python 2

Please note that Python 2 is no longer being supported, see PEP 373 -- Python 2.7 Release Schedule | Python.org for details.

Writing Python

As you write Python, it is well worth consulting PEP 8 – Style Guide for Python Code because this is the official style guide and will help you write good Python and develop good coding habits.

Installing Python

Generally people use pip to installed Python modules and then also virtualenv to manage which Python version runs which project, however Pipenv: Python Dev Workflow for Humans brings these together and is the generally recommended approach, see also pipenv · PyPI.

Logging

We often neglect logging at the start and then add it later, so read A guide to logging in Python | Opensource.com to get a good handle on logging.