What is pip, what does it mean and how does it work?

PIP is an acronym, which means Package installer for Python. pip is a tool used in python to install packages. Surely you already know this if you use Python. In this article I will describe what it is and how to use it.

If you've used Python before, then you've already used pip to install packages, libraries, software for your implementations. In this article we will do some insights into the tool on the package installer for python.

What is pip

Pip is an acronym, and it means “Package installer for Python”.

Its main use is to install Python packages inside your machine so you can use them for your projects.

pip should not be installed, because pip it is already included in the Python package when you install it on your machine and this, regardless of the operating system.

What pip includes

For pip to work, includes several essential tools.

In a nutshell, it includes several features to find, download and install the Python packages you need.

This, both from PyPI and other Python package indexes, but that's not all: it obviously allows you to work on many development workflows.

How it works pip

Python packages can be official, i.e. those provided by the programming language itself, or they are made available by companies or developers.

In most cases they are featured on P&IP: through engine In PyPI's internal search you can find many packages that can be useful for your project!

But PyPI is not the only place to find packages, because private Python Package Indexes can also exist and if so, you need to go to search on the web.

Ercole Palmeri