 » Setup and Getting Started

Setup and Getting Started

Why Python?
Civil engineers can do most of their work with a calculator, Excel, and specialized software, but
sometimes analysis and design requires custom computer programming. Right now, and for the
near future, experts agree that Python is the best programming language to learn for a wide
variety of analysis and design tasks.

Python is…

one of the easiest computer languages to learn,

similar to other languages and can be a stepping stone to others if desired,
very fast and powerful for data analysis and solving engineering problems,
easy to share and collaborate with team members,
used by most big tech companies, including Google, Facebook, and Netflix,
easily integrated with other software, including Excel, ArcGIS, and VISSIM, and
has thousands of extra “packages” that people are continually improving and providing for
free on the internet.

If you do a Google search for best computer languages, you will find Python is often ranked
number one or least in the top five. If you focus your search on computer languages for science,
math, engineering, and data analysis, then Python is king. Various organizations publish annual
rankings of computer languages. google search best computer languages.

What is Python?
There are lots of computer languages. New languages are being created by smart computer
scientists every year. The first “modern” language was simply called “C”. The reason is because in
1972 the guys at Bell Labs who invented it had previously created a language that they called
“A” and then they created something better that they called “B”. When they got to “C” it was so
good they stopped trying to improve it. C became the main programming language for many
years and continues to be a leading language.

Improvements were eventually made to C and became distinct languages such as C++ and C#.
Other languages are Fortran, Java, PHP, R, GO, and Pearl. Computer languages differ in syntax
and vocabulary, just like spoken languages. For example in English adjectives go before the noun,
while in Spanish the adjective comes after the noun. Computer scientists create new languages
to make them faster, more efficient, or easier to use. One way to categorize computer languages
is by programming method . Some languages are better than others for a particular programming
method. For example SQL is really good for Declarative programming. C# is really good for
Object-oriented programming.

Programming Method Characteristics

Procedural programming follows a procedure (also called a routine or a script)

Functional programming can call functions stored in other parts of the code

Declarative programming can efficiently query databases

Object-oriented programming uses objects called classes

A computer scientist named Guido van Rossum wanted to create a computer language that
could efficiently be used with all these programming methods. More importantly he wanted the
language to be easy to read and write. In 1991 he released Python, which he named after Monty
Python the comedy TV show and movie series.

How do I install Python?

There are many versions of Python, many ways to install it, and many many add-in extra
“modules” or “packages” (also called libraries in other computer languages) that can be
additionally installed.

Save yourself a huge headache and simply install the “Anaconda Distribution” with the lastest
version of Python. The Anaconda installation will include all the best packages, a great code
editor called Spyder, and other tools for easily adding and updating packages.

https://www.anaconda.com/download
  Note

There were significant changes from Python version 2.7 to Python 3. Consequently, the
Anaconda people still make Python 2.7 available for legacy applications that some people
might be using still. You should install the newest version, which is currently Python 3.7.

How do I get started?

There are many ways to interact with Python once it has been installed. The best way is to use
an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) such as Spyder, IDLE, or PyCharm. The Anaconda
Distribution includes Spyder.

I recommend you pin Spyder to your taskbar for easy access. Naviagate to the Anaconda folder,
right click on the Spyder program, click More, and click Pin to taskbar.
When you first open Spyder it should look something like the image shown below. The layout in
Spyder is completely customizable, which means you can close, open, and rearrange the
windows how you please. I recommend the default layout with the three windows (calle panes)
shown below.

The first window pane is the Editor where you will write code that can be saved and used later.
The second window pane is the Console where you can also write code, but it is not saved. Code
written in the Editor and code written in the Console is output to the Console. The Console is
also called the Interpreter. The third window pane is where you can read help files and explore
the data that you are using.

I recommend that today and throughout your learning that you explore the Spyder GUI
(graphical user interface), i.e. close and move windows, push different buttons and menus, etc.
Don’t worry, you won’t break it. And you can always put everything back to normal by going to
Tools/Reset Spyder to factory defaults. For example, some people like to have certain panes on
or off, which can be done at View/Panes.
Write your first computer program
Begin by typing in the Console a = 5 . Hit enter. Now write b = 6 and hit enter again.

The variables a and b are now stored in your computer. You can see this by looking at the
Variable explorer in the upper right pane. Now write a + b and hit enter to see how Python can
be used as calculator.

 Note

The Spyder console uses a format called IPython that looks like this:

The IPython input prompt is In [ ] and numbered consecutively. Likewise, output is

preceded with Out [ ] and the corresponding number.

The original Python prompt, which can be seen if you use IDLE to write code, uses three
arrows >>> for input and shows nothing before output. Like this:
“The” official Python Tutorial begins its introduction by showing how the Console (also called the
Interpreter) can be used as a calculator. See An Informal Introduction to Python

Indeed the Console can be useful for quick calculations or to check output. But for long
procedures (i.e. multiple calculations in a sequence) it is better to use the Editor. The Editor
allows you to save the code as a “script” and re-run the script later. Furthermore, if you only use
the Console, then once you close Spyder all the variables will be lost.

Now write your first program in the Editor. Write a = 500 and b = 600 as shown below. This is a
program and doesn’t do anything until we Run the program. Also, write print(a + b) . And, for
fun, also write print("Hello World") (There is a tradition in computer programming that your first
program should say “Hello World”.) To run your program, hit the green play button. You will first
need to save your script. For my course CE 215, you will put scripts in your U: drive folder
CE215/Python. Name the file with your last name, the word Practice, and the lab number (all
separated by underscores). The script will automatically be given a .py extension. So this first
program file will be: Lastname_Practice_1.1.py

The output from running your script will be shown in the Console. You can check the values of
a and b in the Variable Editor.

 Note
 This is called a “script” or a “program” just like when you go to the theater and the actors
follow the sequential lines of their script and the play follows the program. Python reads each
line of the program from from top to bottom . When using the console we could simply write
a + b to print the result. However, when using a script we need to explicitly say when to do
something. print() is how we tell the script to print something to the console.

Now what? How to use this website and where to get help.

This website is not intended to be a tutorial with step by step exercises (that happens in class),
instead it is intended to be a reference for past and current students and anyone else interested
in Python. That said, if you are new to Python, then you should consider clicking through each
page in order. This website follows a typical sequence found in most textbooks and online
tutorials. If you are stuck on a topic, then search online and you will probably find at least a
dozen other websites trying to explain the exact same thing.

Here is a list of websites you should go check out for more information (These will likely come up
as you search the internet for help in the future).

Website Description

The Python Tutorial The official tutorial by the people in charge.

Stack Overflow Where anything you could ever ask has already been answered.

GitHub Where people share code and data. Many Python packages/modules are here.

PEP 8 An important style guide from the people in charge.

Google’s Style Guide Another style guide I try to follow and you should also.

Matplotlib Essential package for science and engineering, for creating plots.

NumPy Essential package for science and engineering, for creating arrays.

Pandas Essential package for science and engineering, for creating dataframes.

SciPy Essential package for science and engineering, for mathematical analysis.

StatsModels Essential package for science and engineering, for statistical analysis.

GIS StackExchange The GIS-focused version of Stack Overflow.

 Tip

To copy code blocks from this website, click >>> in the upper right corner. Then, select the
code and hit Ctrl c to copy. Then, in the Spyder Console or Editor place your cursor and hit
Ctrl v to paste. In some examples on this website print() is not included, so if you are
pasting into the Editor, you may need to add print() to explicitly print something to the
console.