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How to change python version in command prompt if I have 2 python version installed

I have installed Anaconda 2 & 3 in my system. Anaconda 2 contains python 2.7 & Anaconda 3 contains python 3.6.
I need to run my python code using command prompt & I need to use python 3.6
While I'm running python --version, I'm getting python 2.7.14. How do I change it to python 3.6?

As you can see, I have both Python2 and Python3 installed.
I hope you know that the path of the python executable has to be added to the PATH environment variable in Windows. As you can see, the path of Python2 is placed above the path of Python3 in my system.
How does the cmd run commands?
It searches for an executable with the same name in the directory the cmd has been opened in, then goes and searches for the command in the locations provided in the Windows PATH variable, from TOP to BOTTOM.
Which means, it gets the path to Python2 before it can get to the path of Python3. Therefore, every time you type python in your cmd, it runs Python2.
Both Python2 and Python3 executables have the same name in Windows so it never runs python3.
What seems like an obvious solution?
You might think, changing the name of python.exe to python3.exe for the Python3 executable will solve your problem. You are partially right, it will work. But you have to use python3 file.py or python3 --version, which I think, is understandable. But, pip will no longer work if you change the name of the original python executable. You will no longer be able to install external packages and modules.
How can this problem be solved?
You can create an alias for the Python3 executable called python3.bat.
.exe and .bat files can be called from the cmd directly without using their extension. We always write python filename.py instead of python.exe filename.py although both are correct. The same can be done with .bat files.
Go back to the first image and notice the python3.bat file below python.exe. That is my way of calling python3 without renaming my original python executable.
python3.bat
Create a new file using notepad or something and paste this %~dp0python %*
I don't fully understand how this works except that dp0 basically runs python from inside the same directory and %* passes all the arguments to the python executable. Place this file inside your Python3 installation directory and your problem will hopefully be solved.
python3 basically runs your python3.bat file, which in turn runs the python.exe from its folder and passes the arguments to it.
I hope this solves your problem.

You should have python3 also in your path. You could use python3 to run your script:
python3 <your_script>
But to answer your question, you could use alias and update it as python.
$ python --version
Python 2.7.6
$ alias python=python3
$ python --version
Python 3.6.4

If you want to run Python 3.6, then execute python3.6.
Otherwise, check with which python where the symbolic link to the actual python executable is. On my system, it's
/usr/bin/python
and when I ls -la /usr/bin/python, it gives
lrwxrwxrwx 42 user user 42 Aug 24 03:45 /usr/bin/python -> python2.7
If you are really sure that you want to do it, you can now just move the old symlink somewhere:
sudo mv /usr/bin/python /usr/bin/old_python
and create a new symlink:
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/python3.6 /usr/bin/python
Now you should get something like:
$ python --version
Python 3.6.5
I don't guarantee that it doesn't break everything in the world, especially if you have some distro that has a package manager that relies on a specific python version under python.
This seemed to work nicely on Linux Mint 18.

I made a small trick to solve this problem. For me
C:\Python27
and
C:\Python27\Scripts
were at the top of the PATH Environment variable list. I simply selected them and clicked on Moved Down to shift them to the end of the list.
Just make sure that your path of Python3 and its Script folder is above Python2 path.
And it solved the problem for me. Hope it would help you too.
Reason :
How does the cmd run commands?
It searches for an executable with the same name in the directory the cmd has been opened in, then goes and searches for the command in the locations provided in the Windows PATH variable, from TOP to BOTTOM. Which means, it gets the path to Python2 before it can get to the path of Python3. Therefore, every time you type python in your cmd, it runs Python2.
Both Python2 and Python3 executables have the same name in Windows so it never runs python3.
reason is taken from the accepted answer to this question.

In order to run your script with python 3 you can use
python3 <path to file>
P.S.: this should be a comment, but I do not have the required reputation. :)

If Anaconda 3's is the only python3 interpreter in the system you can run python3 instead of python in your command line and it should work.
You can alter PATH parameter inverting the positions of both interpreters.

I have two versions of the python which the first path is python 2(I am still working with python 2), but there are some scripts which should use python 3. This is what I have done:
I have create a bat file.
ex:
open Notepad++ and write :
#echo off
set PYTHONPATH=
"%~dpn0.py" %*
save it as 'yourscriptname.cmd'.
before my script(which should use python3) I just run this file in command line and then run my script. it is working.

Python 3 installation on windows running from command line

Just curious, is there a particular reason why Python 3.x is not installed on Windows to run default with the command line "python3", like it does on Mac OSX and Linux? Is there some kind of way to configure Python so that it runs like this? Thanks.
EDIT: Just to add, the reason I am asking is because I have both the Python 2 and 3 interpreter installed on my computer, and so it is ambiguous, as both are run using the command "python".

the reason I am asking is because I have both the Python 2 and 3 interpreter installed on my computer, and so it is ambiguous, as both are run using the command "python".
To run Python 2 executable:
C:\> py -2
To run Python 3 executable:
C:\> py -3
where py is a Python launcher that is bundled with your Python 3 installation.
py recognizes the shebang (e.g., #!/usr/bin/env python3 causes Python 3 executable to be run), it respects virtualenv (if you run py without specifying the explicit python executable version) i.e., run:
C:\> py your_script.py
and the correct python version is used automatically -- you don't need to specify the Python version on the command-line explicitly.
is there a particular reason why Python 3.x is not installed on Windows to run default with the command line "python3", like it does on Mac OSX and Linux?
OSX and Linux have python executable installed by default as a rule and it refers to Python 2 version in most cases at the moment that is why you need a separate python3 name there.
There is no Python on Windows by default. And therefore any version that you've installed is just python (I guess). The recommended way to manage multiple python versions is to use the Python launcher.
Is there some kind of way to configure Python so that it runs like this?
If you want to type python3 some_script.py instead of py some_script.py or even just some_script (assuming .py is in %PATHEXT% and Python launcher is configured to run Python scripts (check assoc .py and ftype Python.File) -- the default) then create a bat-file e.g., python3.cmd and put it in %PATH%:
"C:\path to\Python 3.X\python.exe" %*

You likely missed the checkbox at the bottom of the installer.
Full documentation here: https://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html
Then, I think you just run python, not python3 from the Command Prompt. The reason Unix systems have python3 is because python defaults to Python2.x in many systems.

You have to add the python bin folder to your path. You can do it manually but when you install python i remember you have an option to do that.

I work with multiple Python 2.x and 3.x distros on Windows. Some of them are "portable" - i.e. not recorded in the Windows registry, and therefore not accessible by the version-selector py.exe delivered with Python 3.3+. To save my sanity, I wrote SelectPython.bat which is available on bitbucket. It configures the PYTHONHOME, PYTHONPATH and PATH variables according to the target you give it (a relative or absolute path to the parent directory of python.exe). You can do so in a way that is sticky for the rest of your command-line session:
> SelectPython C:\Path\To\Desired\Version\Of\Python
> python
or transiently, i.e. to call a particular python command without otherwise affecting the environment of the shell you're calling it from:
> SelectPython C:\Path\To\Desired\Version\Of\Python python -c "import sys;print(sys.version)"
You may find it helpful.

python has multiple versions for different users

I was running my python script by sudo, it throws an exception, then I found the python versions are different as follows, I'm using CentOS 6:
[haifzhan#home]$ sudo python --version
Python 2.6.6
[haifzhan#home]$ sudo su -
[root#home ~]# python --version
Python 2.7.5
[haifzhan#home]$ python --version
Python 2.7.5
When I login as root or my username, the python version is 2.7, but when I use sudo to run, it is 2.6.
Can anyone tell me how to make them all to version 2.7, what should I configure?

Calling python means to call the first executable of this name in a directory pointed to by the $PATH environment variable. Obviously your different users have different $PATH variables set. I propose to have a look at them to understand which executable is called (it could be /usr/local/bin/python vs. /usr/bin/python or similar). To view which you call, use type python once as your user and once as user root.
To call a specific Python binary you can call the explicit full path (e. g. /usr/local/bin/python). This will call the same executable regardless of the value of the $PATH variable.
Alternatively you can configure your accounts so that both have the same binary first in the $PATH variable.
Also, you can try to call python2.7 and python2.6; many installations symlink these to the corresponding binaries.

I would recommend running which python and sudo which python to figure out which different scripts you are running. Also see this link
https://superuser.com/questions/600349/why-sudo-python-and-python-in-terminal-start-two-different-versions-python

Installing Python 3.3 on mac

I used the installer from http://www.python.org/download. The install appeared successful, and it dropped the Python 3.3 folder in my Applications directory. I ran the "Update Shell Profile.command" script it contained, and it prepended /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.3/ to my path. Yet the Python version in that directory appears to be 2.7.5.
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.3 ls
Headers Python Resources bin include lib share
/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.3 Python --version
Python 2.7.5
Also, ls /usr/bin | grep python shows:
python
python-config
python2.5
python2.5-config
python2.6
python2.6-config
python2.7
python2.7-config
pythonw
pythonw2.5
pythonw2.6
pythonw2.7
What have I missed?

There are multiple problems here.
First, you should not be running Python, the framework's executable. Framework executables aren't meant to be run, and it's really only a coincidence that this one happens to work.
Frameworks with programs meant to be run put them in a bin directory somewhere—either outside the framework (like /usr/local/bin) or inside it (like /Library/Frameworks/Foo.framework/Versions/X.Y/bin). By default, Python 3.3 does the latter.
And the programs inside the bin directory are all lowercased, not capitalized, so there is no Python to run.
Next, on Mac, and on almost every other platform in the world besides Windows, the current working directory is not part of your PATH. So, when you type Python --version, that finds Python somewhere on the PATH. The fact that you happened to have an executable of that name in the current directory doesn't mean anything (except that it's confusing to you). If you really want to run that file (but again, you really don't), you have to write ./Python instead.
Also, there is really no good reason to cd into the framework directory in the first place. Sure, you could run the file you want, from there, with the appropriate relative pathname: bin/python3, for example, but you don't want to.
Next, likely you're using a shell you already had running before installing Python 3.3. The Update Shell Profile.command script can be used to add Python 3.3 to the PATH for all future shells, or to spawn a new shell with that PATH, but either way it will not affect any existing shells. To solve that, you just have to start a new shell.
Next:
ls /usr/bin | grep python shows:
The /usr/bin directory is only for programs that are part of the OS. Programs you install yourself go in /usr/local/bin, or somewhere else on your PATH, instead. The Python installer has an option (although it may be hidden, I can't remember…) to put launchers in /usr/local/bin. And it also has an option—which you selected—to put its framework bin directory onto your PATH. But either way, it's never going to put anything in /usr/bin.
And finally, even after installing Python 3.3, the default python will still be 2.7. python3 and python3.3 will be 3.3, but python and python2.7 will be 2.7. See PEP 394 — The "python" Command on Unix-Like Systems for the rationale. But the short version is, there's all kinds of code that depends on Python 2.7 and isn't compatible with 3.3 that may be installed on your system, and you don't want it all to stop working.
So, putting it all together:
Create a new tab or window in Terminal.app.
Type python3 --version.

You may want to consider using a virtualenv:
$ /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.3/bin/python3 -m venv ~/myvenv
$ source ~/myvenv/bin/activate
(myvenv) $ curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py | python
(myvenv) $ deactivate
$ source ~/myvenv/bin/activate
http://docs.python-guide.org/en/latest/dev/virtualenvs/

how to make my epd python as my default python in ubuntu?

I recently installed epd python distribution in ubuntu. This got installed in the folder /home/jai/Downloads/epd_free-7.3-2-rh5-x86_64
Can you tell me how to make this python as my default python?
I get errors while running a test program (it seems my default python is different and it doesn't have numpy library, other libraries that come along epd python distribution.)
My test program is here: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~fangohr/computing/download/python/tests/testall.py

The "default" python depends on how you're invoking it.
On Ubuntu, python is normally installed as /usr/bin/python (not /bin/python) -- which may be a symbolic link.
If you invoke the python command, e.g.:
$ python myscript.py
it will use whichever python executable is in a directory that appears first in your $PATH. You can modify your $PATH, either for your current shell:
export PATH="/some/dir:$PATH"
or for all future shells by updating your $HOME/.bashrc, $HOME/.bash_profile, or whatever. /usr/local/bin is one common place to put system-specific executables, or $HOME/bin for user-specific executables.
If you want to execute the script itself, you'll need a shebang as the first line of the script:
$ head -1 myscript.py
#!/usr/bin/python
$ ./myscript.py
...
You can edit the shebang to refer to whatever Python executable you want to use.
You can replace /usr/bin/python with your preferred Python executable, but that might cause unwanted side effects; existing Python scripts that assume /usr/bin/python is the default might break.
Another option is to change the shebang to:
#!/usr/bin/env python
which lets you execute the script directly while still using whichever python is first in your $PATH. This may or may not be a good idea; see my answer to this question for further discussion.

Default python is the one found in /usr/bin directory with the name python. Making a symbolic link of :
ln -s /home/jai/Downloads/epd_free-7.3-2-rh5-x86_64 /usr/bin/python
Assuming that is the name of the python executable, not the installer. After you installed, use the path where you installed it. f.e /home/iai/myNewPythonInstallation
might do the trick.
Most likely default 2.7 python is occupying that name, so you need to remove that, or use another name like epdPython. Then running python scripts would happen with:
epdPython myscript.py