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Proper installation guide

Step 1: Checking System Requirements​

Before installing Tornado, ensure that your system meets the following requirements:

  • Python 3.5 or higher.
  • An operating system that supports Python (Windows, MacOS, Linux, etc.).

Step 2: Setting up Python Environment​

If you haven't already installed Python, you can download it from Python's official website. Make sure to verify the installation by typing python --version in your terminal.

Step 3: Installing pip​

pip is a Python package installer. It's included in Python versions 3.4 and above. If your Python environment doesn't already have pip, you can install it using the pip installation guide.

Step 4: Installing Tornado​

Now we're ready to install Tornado! Open your terminal and type the following command:

pip install tornado

This command installs the latest version of Tornado.

Step 5: Verifying the Installation​

To confirm that Tornado was installed correctly, we can create a simple "Hello, World!" application.

Create a new Python file, hello.py, and write the following code:

import tornado.ioloop
import tornado.web

class MainHandler(tornado.web.RequestHandler):
    def get(self):
        self.write("Hello, World!")

def make_app():
    return tornado.web.Application([
        (r"/", MainHandler),
    ])

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = make_app()
    app.listen(8888)
    tornado.ioloop.IOLoop.current().start()

Save the file then run it using the command python hello.py. If Tornado is properly installed, you should be able to navigate to http://localhost:8888 in your web browser and see the message "Hello, World!".

Step 6: Understanding Tornado's Architecture​

Now that we've verified the installation, let's briefly touch on Tornado's architecture. Tornado is a Python web framework and asynchronous networking library. It uses a non-blocking network I/O and can scale to tens of thousands of open connections, making it ideal for long polling, WebSockets, and other applications that require a long-lived connection to each user.

Remember, the key to mastering Tornado lies in consistent practice and exploration. Happy coding!