Learn GOOGLE-COLAB with Real Code Examples
Updated Nov 26, 2025
Explain
Runs Python code in a browser-based notebook interface.
Supports rich text, code cells, and visualizations.
Provides free access to GPUs and TPUs for computation-heavy tasks.
Allows sharing notebooks via Google Drive or public links.
Encourages collaborative programming, data analysis, and research.
Core Features
Jupyter-like notebook editor in the browser
Execute Python code in cells
Access to Google Drive for reading/writing data
GPU/TPU runtime selection
Collaboration with multiple users in real-time
Basic Concepts Overview
Notebook - interactive document with code, text, and visualizations
Cell - individual code or text block
Kernel - Python execution engine
Runtime - compute resources including CPU, GPU, TPU
Output - result of code cell execution displayed inline
Project Structure
Notebook consists of sequential cells
Cells can contain code or markdown
Data stored in Google Drive or uploaded locally
Supports importing Python scripts and modules
Output displayed directly below each code cell
Building Workflow
Open Google Colab in a browser
Create a new notebook or open an existing one
Write Python code in cells
Select runtime (CPU, GPU, TPU) if needed
Run code cells, visualize results, and save/share notebook
Difficulty Use Cases
Beginner: learn Python basics in a notebook
Intermediate: analyze datasets with pandas and matplotlib
Advanced: build and train ML models using TensorFlow or PyTorch
Expert: optimize code for GPU/TPU execution
Instructor: create interactive tutorials and demos
Comparisons
Colab vs Deno Playground -> Colab: Python/ML focus; Deno: JS/TS scripting
Colab vs Rust Playground -> Colab: data science and ML; Rust: systems programming
Colab vs Jupyter Notebook -> Colab: cloud-hosted with free GPUs; Jupyter: local setup
Colab vs Replit -> Colab: notebook/ML focus; Replit: multi-language IDE
Colab vs Kaggle Kernels -> Colab: collaborative notebooks; Kaggle: dataset competitions + notebooks
Versioning Timeline
2017 - Google Colab launched publicly
2018 - Added GPU support
2019 - TPU runtime introduced
2020–2023 - Enhanced collaboration and Drive integration
2024–2025 - Continuous updates for performance and ML libraries
Glossary
Notebook - interactive Python document
Cell - code or text block
Kernel - Python execution engine
Runtime - compute resources (CPU/GPU/TPU)
Colab - cloud-hosted Jupyter notebook environment