FAQ
This page will be updated as questions arise.
Can I use a local install of Python and Jupyter notebooks instead of using the VS codespace?
The short answer is, I’d rather you didn’t, to save yourself some headache. But, the long answer is, sure! But you will need to install a specific versions of Python for everything to work as expected. You will also need to install the Python packages we’re using in the course. These are not extremely challenging things to get right, but they are not trivial either, particularly on certain operating systems. Myself and the TAs are always happy to provide help with any computational questions when you’re working in the VS codespace we have provided for you. If you’re working on your local setup, we can’t guarantee being able to resolve your issues, though we’re happy to try.
If you want to take this path, here is what you need to do:
- Download and install Python 3.9
- Download and install an IDE, such as Anaconda, Visual Studio Code, etc.
- Install any necessary packages with
conda installorpip installdepending on your setup
And I’d like to reiterate again that successful installation of these software is not a learning goal of this course. So if any of this seems tedious or intimidating in any way, just use the computing environment we have set up for you. More on that here.