Lab 1: Learning Python

In this lab you will learn the basics of a programming language called Python. You will also learn about how to use Jupyter notebooks to execute Python code.

Download the necessary software

1. Download Python 3.11.4 for the mac
   • From this site, select "Downloads", then "macOS", and click on the button.
   • Choose to save the file to your Desktop.
   • Follow the prompts to install the software.
   • At the end you should see a congratulations message that it was successfully installed.
   • You can move the installer to the trash.
2. Add the terminal application to the dock of your mac.
3. Test that python is working:
• Open the terminal application.
• Inside the terminal window type: python3
• This should open the python interpreter, and you should see a new prompt like this: >>>
• At the python prompt, try a simple command, such as 2+3, and press return, it should print 5
• To exit python, type: exit() press return.
4. Type the following commands within the terminal:
• pip3 install jupyter
• pip3 install pandas
• pip3 install matplotlib

Gettting Started

• Create a new folder called S3P on the Desktop of your Macbook Air.
• This link will download a Jupyter Notebook to your computer; save it in S3P folder that you just created.
• Open a terminal window and type: cd Desktop/S3P. This puts you inside the folder you just created.
• Then in the terminal window type: python3 -m notebook to start working in Jupyter notebook.
• Double click on the file named IntroToPython.ipynb. This is a notebook you will use to learn some Python programming.
• Read through this notebook, executing the cells, and complete the exercises that are given.