Google Colab

Google Colab is an incredible tool that democratizes access to programming and data science, allowing anyone with an internet connection to write and run Python code through the browser.

Eduardo Miranda
May 01, 2024

🕒 Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

This is especially useful for students, researchers and professionals who do not want or cannot install additional software on their computers.

To start using Google Colab, all you need is a Google account. From there, go to Google Colab and you will be directed to the home page where you can start a new project (notebook) or open an existing one from Google Drive.

One of Colab's strengths is the possibility of using powerful computing resources, such as GPUs and TPUs, for free. This is particularly useful for intensive data processing tasks such as training machine learning models.

The Colab environment is based on Jupyter Notebooks, which means you can combine text, code, and code outputs on a single page. To add a new block of code or text, simply use the "+ Code" or "+ Text" buttons at the top of the screen. Running the code is as simple as pressing the play button ▶️ on the code block.

Another big advantage is real-time collaboration, similar to Google Docs. This allows you to work as a team on the same project, seeing your colleagues' edits in real time.

Now, let's dive into the Python world with some practical examples that are also available on Google Colab here 👨‍🔬.

Example 1: "Hello, World!"

The classic program "Hello, World!" is often the first step in any programmer's learning journey. In Python, it's as simple as:

print("Hello, World!")

Example 2: Simple temperature converter (Celsius to Fahrenheit)

This example demonstrates a simple program that converts temperature from Celsius to Fahrenheit. It helps in understanding formula-based calculations in Python.

# Asks the user to enter the temperature in Celsius
celsius = float(input("Enter the temperature in Celsius: "))

#Convert the temperature to Fahrenheit
fahrenheit = (celsius * 9/5) + 32

#Shows the result
print(f"{celsius} Celsius is equal to {fahrenheit} Fahrenheit")

Example 3: Basic sum calculator

This example is a simple calculator that performs addition. It asks the user to enter two numbers and then print the sum. It introduces basic input/output operations and arithmetic operations in Python.

# Asks the user to enter the first number
num1 = float(input("Enter the first number: "))

# Asks the user to enter the second number
num2 = float(input("Enter the second number: "))

# Calculate the sum
soma = num1 + num2

#Shows the result
print(f"The sum of {num1} and {num2} is {soma}")

In short, Google Colab is an affordable and powerful gateway to the world of Python programming. It offers a flexible and collaborative platform to develop, test ideas and learn new skills. With a little curiosity and experimentation, you have in your hands a tool capable of boosting your projects and career.