Python Programming for Raspberry Pi, Sams Teach Yourself in 24 Hours

Right above the bottom two lines of the nano editor window is a special

messages/questions area. This area is usually blank. However, if nano has a special

message or a question, such as File Name to Write:, this is where it shows up.

The bottom two lines of the nano editor window show the most commonly used keyboard command
sequences. These keyboard sequences are actual nano text editor commands. This window uses the ^
symbol to indicate the Ctrl key. Therefore, the command ^G means use Ctrl+G. Table 3.2 lists some
of the basic nano commands.

TABLE 3.2 A Few Basic nano Commands

If you want to learn more about the nano text editor, you can press Ctrl+G and read through nano’s
help information. Another great source is the nano editor homepage, at http://www.nano-editor.org.

Knowing Which Tool to Use and When

Now that you have looked at the text editor, the Python interactive shell, and IDLE, you might be
trying to remember where you run Python scripts or which tool you use to test Python statements.
Tables 3.3 through 3.5 help answer those questions and give you a reference point to keep it straight
as you work through the next several hours.

TABLE 3.3 Testing Python Statements

TABLE 3.4 Creating Python Scripts

TABLE 3.5 Running Python Scripts

You should refer to these tables whenever you are not sure which tool to use when. A tool is no help
unless you know when to use it!