Exercise 4.6

Objectives:

Installing Third Party Packages

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Note

This exercise has you install several third-party extensions. Depending on the Python installation you are using, these packages may already been installed on your system. If so, simply ignore the installation step and proceed to try the example shown.

Also, the installation of these extensions may require the use of a C/C++ compiler depending on your system. If you don’t have this, you may have to locate an alternative installer.

It should be noted that all of these packages can be found in distributions such Anaconda (http://www.continuum.io/downloads).

(a) Install pip

Install pip (https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pip) on your system if it isn’t already there. If it’s installed, you should be able to type a command such as this:

bash % python -m pip --help
Usage: pip COMMAND [OPTIONS]

Options:
  --version             show programs version number and exit
...
bash %

(b) Install numpy

The numpy extension adds support for arrays and matrices to Python. Use pip to install numpy on your machine:

bash % python -m pip install numpy

Once you have it, try the following example:

>>> import numpy
>>> a = numpy.array([1,2,3,4])
>>> b = numpy.array([5,6,7,8])
>>> a+b
array([ 6,  8, 10, 12])
>>>

(c) Install pandas

The pandas library is useful for performing kinds of data analysis. Install it and use it to read a CSV file:

>>> portfolio = pandas.read_csv('Data/portfolio.csv')
>>> portfolio
   name  shares  price
0    AA     100  32.20
1   IBM      50  91.10
2   CAT     150  83.44
3  MSFT     200  51.23
4    GE      95  40.37
5  MSFT      50  65.10
6   IBM     100  70.44

>>>

(d) Install matplotlib

The matplotlib extension adds support for plotting. You task: install matplotlib and try making a plot:

>>> from matplotlib import pyplot
>>> import numpy
>>> x = numpy.linspace(-10,10,1000)
>>> y = 2*numpy.sin(x)+3*numpy.cos(2*x)
>>> pyplot.plot(x,y)
[<matplotlib.lines.Line2D object at 0x12aea370>]
>>> pyplot.show()
>>>

If it works, you should get a plot that looks like this:

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