How to check whether I have IPython installed on my machine and what sequence to install these libraries?

Question

I need to use python for a machine learning course and I also need to install some external libraries. I'm a bit confused as to what the correct order is for installation of everything as I've heard the paths can get messed up if done incorrectly.

Here is what I need:

• Python version 2.7
• IPython
• The libraries available inside this package by enthought

So 1st step is to see whether I have python installed Yes: I have this version

 AM@~ >python
 Python 2.7.2 (default, Jun 20 2012, 16:23:33) 
 [GCC 4.2.1 Compatible Apple Clang 4.0 (tags/Apple/clang-418.0.60)] on darwin
 Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

Next IPython

 How do I check if I have IPython?
 Also whats the ideal procedure to install it? Any caveats? Any special path settings?     

 Can I use brew to install it?

Enthought libraries

   Do I have to install these libraries in any particular order? before IPython? after IPython? 
   Do I have to set any specific paths?

Im trying to avoid having to install and make an error and then reinstall etc.

So any help would be much appreciated. Im running Mac OS X 10.7 (Mountain Lion).

Thanks

Solution 1

It is so simple to get all IPython, Matplotlib, Scipy etc. now that you have Python 2.7 installed. If this is for a course, I assume you have a .edu email address with this institution? If so just go here: http://www.enthought.com/products/edudownload.php

Submit your info. Download and install it like any other program. You will then be able to call ipython from the terminal. Or to use matplotlib call ipython --pylab from the terminal.

Definitely do not go about installing the libraries one-by-one unless you are very familiar with how that works.

Solution 2

You can simply check the version, as we do with other software packages to check if a software package is installed properly or not.

Type in your terminal.

ipython --version

It'll print the version if ipython is installed properly.

Comments

[chimpsarehungry]

I found this out by having the libraries all installed one by one (except Matplotlib would never work for some reason), and then I upgraded to Mountain Lion and all of my libraries were gone; so I went searching for an easier way to do it.

[Apostolos]

You have not answered the 1st and basic question -- How to check if you have Ipython installed!

[Apostolos]

The question is How to check if you have Ipython installed, not what version of Ipython one has. And then what OS system you run "ipython" in: Linux? In Windows there's no such a command.

[H S Rathore]

@Apostolos.. The Question states the OS as Mac OS X 10.7. This is a genuine method to check if your installation of particular package is valid or not. You will get the same method defined by python also to see if python installation is properly installed or not.

[Apostolos]

1) The question says "How to check whether I have IPython installed on my machine and what sequence to install these libraries?" Only at the very end of the long description it says "Im running Mac OS X 10.7", which anyway is not so important since the question can be applied to any OS. 2) The question does not ask how "to check if your installation of particular package is valid or not". The question is very simple: How to check IF one has IPython installed. Not what IPython version is installed as you have asnwered. Is it clear this time?