This section of the manual includes some basic tutorials that will teach you the fundamentals of using the Panda3D library.

Since all of these tutorials require you to use the Python scripting language, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with Python before continuing.

Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented language comparable to Java or Perl. It is available on several platforms, including UNIX, Windows, OS/2, and Mac. Python also has a large number of modules outside of the standard Python installation, and additional modules can be created in C or C++. Because it is late-binding and requires minimal memory management, it is an ideal language for rapid prototyping.

Panda 3D comes with a version of python that has all of the panda libraries hooked up to it.

To use Panda's python in windows:

1. Make sure the \bin directory inside your panda installation is on your PATH environment variable.

2. Go into a command prompt and type: ppython <your program>

There are a lot of other resources available for programming in Python. Here is a list of some of the best:

Links from the official python website:

• Official Website - http://www.python.org
• Current Python Documentation
• Python Documentation This is the version still being used in Panda3D.
• Python Tutorial. Written by Guido Van Rossum, the author of Python.

Here are some other good links for learning python:

• Programming in Python
• Byte of Python
• Python for Non-Programmers
• Dive Into Python
• Python 101
• Miscellaneous python documentation
• Python Examples and Sample Code
• The Standard Python Library
• Python Book List