Getting Started With Anaconda and Jupyterlab

To facilitate your learning Python, I recommend installing Anaconda (https://www.anaconda.com/).

Download the version of Anaconda that corresponds to the operating system you will use. If you are going to use Python on a Windows 10 machine, I recommend installing the 64-bit version with the latest level of Python. If you have already installed and it has been a few months, then I recommend updating your installation. To update on a Windows 10 machine:

1. Windows key, and search to locate the Anaconda Prompt app icon

2. RIGHT-Click on the Anaconda Prompt, and select, 'Run as Administrator'
(if you run the prompt without doing this you will get an error message that says that you do not have permission to write to the ProgramData directory)

3. In the Administrator Anaconda prompt command window type:

conda update -n root conda

4. After that command finishes, then:

conda update --all

(the update may take a few minutes depending on how long it has been since you last updated.)

After installing (or updating), launch the Anaconda Navigator from the Windows Start menu:

From the Navigator, you can launch a variety of apps that are useful for scientific computing and data analysis. I highly recommend getting familiar with jupyterlab. It provides an integrated environment  for interactive computing with Python and documenting your work all in one 'notebook'-like file.

More information on jupyterlab can be found at:
https://jupyterlab.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
http://jupyter.org/documentation

See some reviews and links to presentations on jupyter lab here.

Welcome to Dr. Furman's Blog!

Welcome to my personal blog!

I'm Burford (Buff) Furman, currently Professor of Mechanical Engineering at San José State University, where I have been since 1994. Prior to coming to SJSU, I worked at IBM in San José designing components for disk drives. My areas of interest for research and teaching are in solar-powered automated transit, mechatronics, and intelligent mechanical systems.

I've been co-leading the Spartan Superway project at SJSU since fall of 2012. There is much more about the Superway project at: http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/smssv/ and http://spartansuperway.blogspot.com/