Operations

• Software -- Jupyter, AOS Python stack
  • Binder link:

    https://mybinder.org/v2/gh/wd15/python-aos-lesson/gh-pages

• I'm assuming you have a little experience with Python
• Please ask me to slow down in the chat interface
• What are we doing?
  • Organize your software -- Conda environments
  • Using Xarray with NetCDF files
  • Vectorization (not writing loops in Python)
  • Anything else that you'd like to learn
  • Present your own data
  • Trying to read and manipulate your own data

Study Material

• SWC, heavily Pandas based

  • http://swcarpentry.github.io/python-novice-gapminder/

• Python like you mean it

  • https://www.pythonlikeyoumeanit.com/module_2.html

• Automate the boring stuff

  • https://automatetheboringstuff.com/  

Why learn Python?

• It's a programming language - doesn't matter

• Alternatives: Matlab, Mathematica, Perl, Ruby, Julia

• Widely used in science

• Widely used outside of science (web platforms, data science)

• Number 3 on TIOBE index (Java, C, Python), https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/

• What else: huge active community, many scientific libraries, high level, open

• Some drawbacks (types, reproducibility)

• What do your friends use?

AOS Stack

Python software is like the wild west compared with Matlab

Python Environments

• What happens if we only use the "system" Python?
• We need many different Python environments
• In the beginning there was pip and it was ok
• How do we share environments?
• 5-10 years ago Conda became popular
  • create any number of new environments
  • other language support (Ruby, R, Javascript, C extensions)
• Conda has problems
  • There are other choices (e.g. Nix)