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conda and anaconda

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anaconda

anaconda is a Scientific Python distribution, developed by , from their web-page:

Anaconda is a completely free enterprise-ready Python distribution for large-scale data processing, predictive analytics, and scientific computing

some advantages:

• free
• cross-platform

• 195+ of the most popular Python packages for science, math, engineering, data analysis, ... notably:
  
  

  • NumPy
  • SciPy
  • Pandas
  • IPython
  • Matplotlib
  • Numba
  • Blaze
  • Bokeh
    
    

• easily install, update, revert Python packages (with dependencies ..)

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conda

conda is a package and environment management system akin to virtualenv

example, I want to test the iris and cartopy packages.

These are developed by the UK Met. Office.

• iris is a Python package for analysing and visualising meteorological and oceanographic data sets
• cartopy is a Python package for advanced map generation with a simple matplotlib interface.

problem is that they require older versions of numpy and other libraries, and I don't want to mess up my main environment

first create a conda environment named iris, with the minimum: python and ipython [+ libraries for the notebook]

ᐅ conda create -n iris python ipython ipython-notebook

then:

ᐅ source activate iris

and to install (in the iris environment) using the binstar service (see below first)

ᐅ conda install -c https://conda.binstar.org/scitools cdat-lite
ᐅ conda install -c https://conda.binstar.org/scitools iris
ᐅ conda install -c https://conda.binstar.org/scitools cartopy

A (quick and dirty) exploration of iris and cartopy can be found in this notebook

IMPORTANT: you need to launch a new instance of the IPython notebook from the iris environment:

~/Documents/talks_seminars/Python_NIWA_April2015/session_2/notebookss  ᐅ source activate iris

(iris)~/Documents/talks_seminars/Python_NIWA_April2015/session_2/notebooks  ᐅ ipython notebook 

some useful conda commands:

• list the existing environments

ᐅ conda env list

or 

ᐅ conda info -e

• remove an environment

ᐅ conda env remove -n envname

binstar

binstar is a free service for hosting public packages for pip and conda

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