Installing Python & Jupyter Notebook

First things first…

Installing Python & Jupyter Notebook using Anaconda

The best way to install Python & Jupyter Notebook

on your computer is using the Anaconda distribution

But first, what is Jupyter Notebook & Anaconda Distribution

Jupyter Notebook (formerly IPython Notebooks) is a web-based

interactive computational environment for writing computer code, such
as Python. It is the preferred environment for Python coding & has a
number of useful features like syntax highlighting.

Anaconda is an open-source distribution of the Python & R languages for

scientific computing (e.g., data science, machine learning applications,
etc.). It helps users manage ‘packages’ which are add-ons used to run
specific tasks – Jupyter Notebook is also installed using Anaconda
Installing Python & Jupyter Notebook using Anaconda

To begin, head to https://www.anaconda.com/distribution/ & download

Python 3.7 for your respective operating system (e.g., Mac or Windows)

Next, install Anaconda by following the instructions on the download page

Once completed open a Terminal (Mac/Linux) or Command Prompt

(Windows) & type in the following: jupyter notebook
Working with Jupyter Notebooks

You should see the following on your browser after typing: jupyter notebook
Note: your directories & file names will not match exactly to the below

From here you can navigate to your

saved Python Notebooks that have
the following file extension: *.ipynb
Working with Jupyter Notebooks

On your Desktop, make a folder named: MyPythonFolder

Now on within your Jupyter application, navigate to that directory

by clicking on Desktop then MyPythonFolder
Working with Jupyter Notebooks

Now, lets open a new Jupyter Notebook for Python 3

Start by clicking the New drop down button and then selecting Python 3
Working with Jupyter Notebooks

We can now have a look at the

basic layout and functionality of a Jupyter Notebook
Runs code in active cell (you can also press SHIFT + ENTER)

Green highlighting signifies which cell is active

Your code goes into active cell

Adds a new cell under the active cell

Working with Jupyter Notebooks

You can write code in a single line of a cell or across multiple lines

You can run a single line of code (SHIFT + ENTER)

Or write multiple lines of code by pressing ENTER to

get a new line & SHIFT + ENTER to execute code
Working with Jupyter Notebooks

Lastly, lets rename our Jupyter Notebook and save it to our MyPythonFolder

Click on the text

Untitled which will
bring up a box

Type in
MyFirstPythonScript
and hit Rename

You now have your

saved Jupyter Notebook
that you can go back
and work on later
And one last thing…
As you may have discovered, as you increase the width of your window
the area you can type your code into reaches a maximum width

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To make full use of the window, simply type the following