If your programming projects ever require any kind of enhanced mathematical or scientific functions, you will probably need to install an additional library. This tutorial will guide you through the process of installing the Python XY toolset on your Windows computer.
Before you start
Before you can install Python XY, you need:
- A Windows computer (these instructions will not work on a Mac or Linux machine).
- A computer logon with sufficient access rights to download and install executable files.
This tutorial also assumes that you do not already have any Python components installed.
Performing the installation
Installing Python XY is relatively straight-forward:
- Visit the SciPy website at https://www.scipy.org and click the Install icon at the top of the page:
- When the next webpage loads, select Python(x,y) from the list of available packages:
This particular package also contains the Spider IDE. - You will now be redirected to the pythonxy website. Click the Downloads tab at the top of the page:
By default you will see the most up-to-date version of the installer and library. Click any of the download links and save the file somewhere memorable – like in your Downloads directory.In the event you see some kind of security warning you can click OK to continue. - Locate the installer and double-click to run:
Click Run on the security warning that pops up to start the installation process: - Unless you have a specific reason for not allowing all users of the computer to access Python, leave the default radio button selected and click Next:
- The next screen allows you to choose which components you want to install. For the sake of completeness, we have chosen to select all the components. In this way we can be sure nothing gets missed.
Click Next. - The next screen allows you to choose the Python installation path. Unless instructed otherwise by your systems administrator, you can leave this setting as is.
Click Next. You will be prompted several times to repeat this process for each of the Python components selected – again you can accept the defaults and keep clicking Next until the installer begins copying files:
Once the files have finished copying, the installer dialog will disappear. Python XY is now ready to use.
Testing the installation
With installation completed, you need to verify that the XY components are ready for use.
- Locate Spyder on the start menu and click it to open the IDE:
- When the IDE finishes loading, you should see a fairly standard coding environment. In the bottom right hand corner you have access to the Interpreter Console:
You can quickly assess whether the Python XY libraries are installed correctly using the console to execute some basic arithmetic functions. Try the following pressing Enter at the end of each line:x=3.14
y=2
print x*y
If everything is working correctly, the console should return:
6.28
With testing complete, you can now get on with coding Python using the Spyder IDE and XY math framework.
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For a video of this tutorial, please see the Firebox Training YouTube channel.
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