Installing Python

For this course, you will almost certainly need to have a command line interface, Python, and IDLE installed on your computer. The way one goes about doing this varies depending on whether you're running a Windows, Apple, or Linux operating system. Preliminary instructions on how to go about installing Python on your home computer are given here, although you may reasonably consider using a USB flash drive.

Apple OS X

Apple's OS X comes with Python 2.5 installed. You should upgrade to 2.6.2 by downloading and installing the appropriate software from this page.

At this point, you can use a command line interface (the "Terminal" application, at /Applications/Utlities/Terminal.app ) and Python 2.6.2 (in the Terminal, enter $ python to start it).

To run the Integrated Development Environment IDLE, enter python -m idlelib.idle at the command line.

Windows

Windows typically doesn't have Python installed on it, so you'll need to go to www.python.org to download the Python 2.6.2 .msi file, and execute it to install Python on your machine. You should probably also install the "Python for Windows Extensions".

You'll also want to install Cygwin, which will allow you to use your Terminal to connect to the course's server. When you run setup.exe, be sure to install openssh—you'll need that to be able to upload files to our server.

Once you've got Python installed, you'll have three ways of running it—we'll be using all three in this course, at one time or another.

Linux

Congratulations! All Linux distros come up with a command line interface installed, and many have Python already installed (at the prompt enter python to start it).

If Python is not installed, you can get it from www.python.org—follow instructions at the website to download and install it on your machine.

IDLE can be installed by using the package manager for you particular machine to get and install. In Ubuntu, for example, entering sudo apt-get install idle will do this.

Or, if you're a real pro, you can download the idle.tgz file, extract the files, use the Terminal to go to the main directory, and do the standard

  1. ./configure
  2. make, and
  3. make install

Classic!

Running from a USB Flash Drive

If you don't have access to your own machine, or are unable to install software on your home machine, please consult the instructor regarding using a USB Flash Drive. Bring me a 4Gb USB flash drive and I'll be happy to set it up so that you can use that drive for this course.

Using the flash drive, you'll be able to:

You can buy 4Gb USB flash drives at Fry's in Burbank, online at Amazon, from many different retailers, or from the instructor. You might even consider using one of these same drives to a) backup your files for the course, and b) carry with you for use when you don't have access to your main computer.