It is not always easy to have a working Python environment with all packages and librearies that are needed. The easiest way, in particolar for users not familiar with Python and Linux system managment, is to use Anaconda
Anaconda® is a package manager, an environment manager, a Python distribution, and a collection of over 720 open source packages. It is free and easy to install, and it offers free community support.
conda is the package manager
The conda command is the primary interface for managing Anaconda installations. It can query and search the Anaconda package index and current Anaconda installation, create new conda environments, and install and update packages into existing conda environments.
Anaconda includes conda, conda-build, Python, and over 150 automatically installed scientific packages and their dependencies. As with Miniconda, over 250 additional scientific packages can be installed individually with the “conda install” command.
Miniconda is a small “bootstrap” version that includes only conda, Python, and the packages they depend on. Over 720 scientific packages and their dependencies can be installed individually from the Continuum repository with the “conda install” command.
- Anaconda overview :https://www.continuum.io/anaconda-overview
- Conda docs: https://conda.io/docs
- Conda for Data Science : https://www.continuum.io/content/conda-data-science
Before starting you should read https://conda.io/docs/download.html
I suggest not to download the full Anaconda, but start with miniconda and then install only what you really need.
To install you have to download the latest Anaconda installer bash script and then run it.
Download the miniconda installer for Python3 at https://conda.io/miniconda.html.
Let's assume that you downloaded the installer script file Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh
If you really need to use Python2.7 you can download the corresponding version. To date (2017), most packages works with Python2.7, but most likely in a few years Python2 will not be supported. It is therefore better to start using Python3.
It is possible to install Anaconda/miniconda as root, but I suggest to install with no root privileges in your home directory to avoid conflicts with the system and other users
bash Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh
follow the instructions and you will have miniconda installed on your system!
You should let the installer add the conda installation of Python to your PATH environment variable.
This works only if you are using a Bash-like shell. If you are using csh or tcsh, just add the following like
to your .cshrc file
# miniconda
set path =($HOME/miniconda3/bin $path)
You can now check if you are using the latest version
conda update conda
You will probably obtain an output like this
Fetching package metadata .........
Solving package specifications: .
Package plan for installation in environment /home/marco/miniconda3:
The following packages will be UPDATED:
conda: 4.3.21-py36_0 --> 4.3.22-py36_0
Proceed ([y]/n)? y
press "y" to confirm
If there are no updates the output will be like this:
Fetching package metadata .........
Solving package specifications: .
# All requested packages already installed.
# packages in environment at /home/marco/miniconda3:
#
conda 4.3.22 py36_0
Read the docs at https://conda.io/docs/index.html
You now need to install all packages that we need. Let's will start with:
- numpy
- scipy
- matplotlib
- astropy
- jupyter-notebook
With conda you can install all of them with the command
conda install numpy scipy matplotlib astropy notebook
conda will then list all the packages and dependences what will be installed. Press y to proceed.
astroquery
is a set of tools for querying astronomical web forms and databases.
It is an affiliated package of astropy and can be installed with conda from the astropy channel:
conda install -c astropy astroquery
Notebooks come alive when interactive widgets are used. Users can visualize and control changes in the data.
conda install -c conda-forge ipywidgets
jupyter nbextension enable --py widgetsnbextension
Read the doc https://docs.continuum.io/anaconda/install/uninstall
To uninstall Anaconda, you can do a simple remove of the program. This will leave a few files behind, which for most users is just fine.
Remove the entire Anaconda directory, which has a name such as anaconda2 or anaconda3, by entering e.g.
rm -rf ~/anaconda3
If you use Linux or macOS, you may also wish to check the .bashrc file in your home directory for a line such as:
export PATH="/home/marco/miniconda3/bin:$PATH"
After uninstalling Anaconda, you may delete this line and save the file.