Plotting and Programming in Python: Setup

Installing Anaconda / Miniconda

The default Anaconda installation includes all of the packages required for the main part of the session.

The additional components required for the optionsl Working with Geospatial Data section can be added from a terminal / Anaconda prompt window:

conda install -y -c conda-forge iris cartopy

Miniconda is a minimal version of the Anaconda software which includes enough components to create and manage different environments.

It is possible to create a dedicated environment containing all of the required components for the session, and this can be done using either the full version of Anaconda, or using Miniconda.

Miniconda installers can be found here

Notes for installing the full version of Anaconda can be found below.

Creating an environment

From a terminal / Anaconda prompt window, an environment containing all of the components which are required for all of the excercises can be created with the command:

conda create -c conda-forge -n python_training jupyterlab numpy matplotlib pandas iris cartopy

Once the environment has been created, it can be activated with:

conda activate python_training

Getting the Data

We will be working with various data files throughout the session.

To obtain the data, download and unzip the file python-data.zip. In order to follow the presented material, you should launch the JupyterLab server in the root directory (see Starting JupyterLab).

Installing Python Using Anaconda

Python is a popular language for research computing, and great for general-purpose programming as well. Installing all of its research packages individually can be a bit difficult, so we recommend Anaconda, an all-in-one installer.

Regardless of how you choose to install it, please make sure you install Python version 3.x (e.g., 3.6 is fine).

We will teach Python using the JupyterLab, a programming environment that runs in a web browser (JupyterLab will be installed by Anaconda). For this to work you will need a reasonably up-to-date browser. The current versions of the Chrome, Safari and Firefox browsers are all supported (some older browsers, including Internet Explorer version 9 and below, are not).

  1. Open https://www.anaconda.com/products/individual#download-section with your web browser.
  2. Download the Anaconda for Windows installer with Python 3. (If you are not sure which version to choose, you probably want the 64-bit Graphical Installer Anaconda3-...-Windows-x86_64.exe)
  3. Install Python 3 by running the Anaconda Installer, using all of the defaults for installation except make sure to check Add Anaconda to my PATH environment variable.

Video Tutorial

  1. Open https://www.anaconda.com/products/individual#download-section with your web browser.
  2. Download the Anaconda Installer with Python 3 for macOS (you can either use the Graphical or the Command Line Installer).
  3. Install Python 3 by running the Anaconda Installer using all of the defaults for installation.

Video Tutorial

  1. Open https://www.anaconda.com/products/individual#download-section with your web browser.
  2. Download the Anaconda Installer with Python 3 for Linux.
    (The installation requires using the shell. If you aren't comfortable doing the installation yourself stop here and request help at the workshop.)
  3. Open a terminal window and navigate to the directory where the executable is downloaded (e.g., `cd ~/Downloads`).
  4. Type 
    bash Anaconda3-
    and then press Tab to autocomplete the full file name. The name of file you just downloaded should appear.
  5. Press Enter (or Return depending on your keyboard). You will follow the text-only prompts. To move through the text, press Spacebar. Type yes and press enter to approve the license. Press Enter (or Return) to approve the default location for the files. Type yes and press Enter (or Return) to prepend Anaconda to your PATH (this makes the Anaconda distribution the default Python).
  6. Close the terminal window.