Install Python (optional)
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Install Python (optional)¶
You are welcome to install Python on your own computer. In order to do this, you will need to install a Python distribution with the necessary packages. We recommend using conda, an open-source package management system which can be installed using Miniconda (a lightweight version of Anaconda).
Install Miniconda¶
The latest version of Miniconda can be accessed from the dowload page. Download the corresponding package for your operating system.
Test installation¶
After installation is complete, you can test that the package manager conda works by opening an Anaconda Prompt (miniconda3) (Windows) or Terminal (Mac).
In the command prompt (or Terminal) run the following:
conda --version
If the command returns a version number of conda (e.g. conda 4.11.0) everything is working correctly.
Create course environment¶
The Python libraries needed for this course can be installed using an environment.yml file which can be downloaded from here.
You can install environment.yml by opening an Anaconda Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac), navigating to the file (i.e. cd Downloads/) and running the following command:
conda env create -f environment.yml
This will take some time so we recommend doing this before lab. But, if all goes well, you will have a new environment called sds. To activate this environment, type:
conda activate sds
Now launch JupyterLab by typing:
jupyter lab
Once launched, we can follow the instructions here to make a new Jupyter Notebook, save it, and submit it on Canvas. The benefits of this approach are that this JupyterLab environment is permanent so it can be accessed without internet connection and will not shutdown after periods of inactivity.