Workshop on Scientific Python
16 Aug, 2014 Saturday 10:30 am to 1:30 pm
What is Scientific Python?
Python is a widely used general purpose, high-level programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes
code readability, and its syntax allows programmers to express concepts in fewer lines of code than would be
possible in languages such as C. The language provides constructs intended to enable clear programs on both a
small and large scale.
–Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)
Python combined with its various modules makes it Scientific Python, a computation software comparable to
Matlab, GNU Octave, Scilab, R and other popular scientific computation platforms. Scientific Python modules
include NumPy, Matplotlib, Pandas, SciPy, SymPy, scikit-image, scikit-learn, statsmodels and many more.
Why Learn Scientific Python?
Scientific Python has capabilities for numerical computation and data visualization comparable to Matlab. How-
ever, at present it does not have a tool similar to SimuLink of Matlab. Areas where Python is being used include:
• Statistics, Optimization
• Data Analytics, Big Data, Machine Learning
• Signal and Image Processing, Computer Vision
• Finite element method, Computational fluid dynamics, Finite difference method
• Bioinformatics
It is useful to anyone who uses numerical computations to solve mathematical problems.
About the Workshop
This is an informal, internal workshop for the faculty of B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology. If you teach
courses that involve mathematical modeling, solving mathematical problems and visualizing those solutions, this
workshop is for you. Workshop will be hands-on and of 3 hour duration. You can use desktops already installed
with all required software or bring your own laptop with required software installed according to instructions on
the next page.
How to Register?
Visit the URL http://j.mp/1qY44kK and register at Eventbrite (You may have to create an account on Eventbrite).
If you want to install Python on your laptop, see the next page.
Registering early will help us choose and prepare the lab in time to accommodate all participants. We intend to
register 30 participants. If the number exceeds 30, we will have to make alternate arrangements.
Date and Time
Date: 16 Aug, 2014 Saturday
Time: 10:30 am to 1:30 pm
Venue: CAD Lab, Civil Engineering Department
Resource Persons
Dr. Satish Annigeri, Professor, Civil Engineering Department
Dr. A.B. Raju, Professor, Electrical & Electronics Engineering Department
Organizing Departments
Dr. S.S. Quadri, Professor & Head, Civl Engineering Department
Dr. A.B. Raju, Professor & Head, Electrical & Electronics Engineering Department
Installing Scientific Python Software
Download Anaconda Python Distribution
Download Anaconda Scientific Python distribution from Continuum Analytics website at the following URL: http:
//continuum.io/downloads.
Choose an appropriate file based on your operating system. Anaconda is available for Microsoft Windows,
GNU/Linux and Mac OS X in both 32-bit or 64-bit versions. A 32-bit version will work on both 32-bit and 64-bit
versions of an operating system whereas a 64-bit version will only work on a 64-bit version of the operating system.
Install Scientific Python Software
• On Microsoft Windows, run the downloaded program and follow instructions displayed by the installation
program. Choose all default choices.
• On GNU/Linux, run the downloaded program and choose all default options.
Test Installed Software
On Microsoft Windows, goto to Windows Menu and check if you can see IPython in the list of installed programs.
Click on IPython to open the IPython console. Alternately, open an MS-DOS Prompt and type the command
ipython and the IPython console must open.
On GNU/Linux, open a terminal and type ipython at the command prompt. This must open the IPython
console.
At the IPython prompt, type the following commands and check if they produce any error messages. If you
don’t see any error messages, your software is installed correctly. The commands to try are:
In [1]: import numpy
In [2]: import matplotlib
In [3]: import scipy
