Saint Louis University |
Computer Science 1300
|
Computer Science Department |
If you are using your account on our department's hopper
system, Python is already installed and can be started by typing the
command python in a console window. There is also a
development environment for Python known as IDLE that is available by
navigating the start menu to
If you wish to run locally on your own computer, Python can be easily installed. In fact, if you have an Apple computer, Python and IDLE are already pre-installed as part of the OSX distribution. You can open a terminal window and start Python by typing the command python, or IDLE by typing the command idle. For other platforms, you can download a Python installer from www.python.org/download; make sure to download the Python 2.x line (Python 2.7.1 is the most current release).
There is a wonderful web site named pythontutor.com that allows you to walk through the execution of a Python program, step-by-step, with a visual display of the current work space.
The graphics support for this class is provided by a module named cs1graphics developed here at SLU. It is not an official part of the Python distribution, so you will need to make sure to have it available on your system as well. If working on our department system, it is already available. If working on your own system, you will need to download a single file named cs1graphics.py. The most recent public release of this software is available at www.cs1graphics.org.
There are two ways to use the file on your own computer. One is to make sure to place the file in the same directory in which you are working when you start the Python interpretter. A better approach is to install the package by placing the file on your system in a folder typically named site-packages that is part of the Python distribution. If you have trouble finding the location of that package, please type the following command while within the Python interpreter.
>>> import sys; print [p for p in sys.path if 'site-packages' in p]