Python is a popular language for scientific computing, and great for general-purpose programming as well. Installing all of its scientific packages individually can be a bit difficult, however, so we recommend the all-in-one installer Anaconda.
Regardless of how you choose to install it, please make sure you install Python version 3.x (e.g., 3.4 is fine). Also, please set up your python environment at least a day in advance of the workshop. If you encounter problems with the installation procedure, ask your workshop organizers via e-mail for assistance so you are ready to go as soon as the workshop begins.
Open http://continuum.io/downloads with your web browser.
Download the Python 3 installer for Windows.
Double-click the executable and install Python 3 using MOST of the default settings. The only exception is to check the Make Anaconda the default Python option.
Open http://continuum.io/downloads with your web browser.
Download the Python 3 installer for OS X.
Install Python 3 using all of the defaults for installation.
Note that the following installation steps require you to work from the shell. If you run into any difficulties, please request help before the workshop begins.
Open http://continuum.io/downloads with your web browser.
Download the Python 3 installer for Linux.
Install Python 3 using all of the defaults for installation.
a. Open a terminal window.
b. Navigate to the folder where you downloaded the installer
c. Type
$ bash Anaconda3-
and press tab. The name of the file you just downloaded should appear.
d. Press enter.
e. Follow the text-only prompts. When the license agreement appears (a colon
will be present at the bottom of the screen) hold the down arrow until the
bottom of the text. Type yes and press enter to approve the license. Press
enter again to approve the default location for the files. Type yes and
press enter to prepend Anaconda to your PATH (this makes the Anaconda
distribution the default Python).
For this lesson, we will be using the Portal Teaching data, a subset of the data from Ernst et al Long-term monitoring and experimental manipulation of a Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem near Portal, Arizona, USA
We will be using files from the Portal Project Teaching Database.
This section will use the surveys.csv file that can be downloaded here:
https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/2292172
We will teach Python using the Jupyter notebook, a programming environment that runs in a web browser. Jupyter requires a reasonably up-to-date browser, preferably a current version of Chrome, Safari, or Firefox (note that Internet Explorer version 9 and below are not supported). If you installed Python using Anaconda, Jupyter should already be on your system. If you did not use Anaconda, use the Python package manager pip (see the Jupyter website for details.)
To start the notebook, open a terminal or git bash and type the command:
$ jupyter notebook
To start the Python interpreter without the notebook, open a terminal or Git Bash and type the command:
$ python