Computational Tools

This text uses the Python 3 programming language, along with a standard set of numerical and data visualization tools that are used widely in commercial applications, scientific experiments, and open-source projects. Python has recruited enthusiasts from many professions that use data to draw conclusions. By learning the Python language, you will join a million-person-strong community of software developers and data scientists. This text will teach you to write programs, generate images from data, and work with real-world data sets that are published online.

Getting Started (for students in Data Science For All). You don't need to install any software on your computer. Everything will run in your web browser. Just log in to Vocareum Labs. After you are enrolled in the course, you should have full access to the programming environment hosted on that site. If not, contact the course administrator to request access. If you have any technical difficulties with Vocareum, consult with your recitation TA for assistance. All assignments (labs, homeworks, and projects) will be released to you in Vocareum, and you will submit them there, too.

Getting Started (for others). A Python program can be executed by any computer, regardless of its manufacturer or operating system, provided that support for the language is installed. If you wish to install the version of Python and its accompanying libraries that will match this text, we recommend Anaconda. Make sure to install the Python 3 version, not the Python 2 version. You'll also need to install the datascience library. The easiest way to do that is to open a terminal and run pip install datascience.