Hello Learners, this guide is created to help you get started with all setups for the coding
module. If you
are someone who has technical know-how in Python, please feel free to skip the details. For others,
please follow the guidelines one by one.
We will do a 3-step setup to get started:
1: Download the programming language in which we will code (In our case, it is Python)
2: Download an interface (called as IDE) in which we can write the code (In our case, it is Pycharm)
3: Download the libraries that will be needed in the code
So let’s get started….
Step 1: Install Python:
a: Google for “download python”
b: Make sure you click on the result from [Link] which is the official website
c: Python comes with newer major/minor versions every few weeks, but we want to download an older
version, considering it would be more stable and verified by users.
I will download version 3.11.6, so I scroll down and click on “Download” next to 3.11.6
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d: On the next page, click on the installer corresponding to your operating system (Windows or Mac
etc.)
e: Run the downloaded exe file. If you are unsure of your permissions, its best to run as an administrator
f: Click on “Install Now”. Be sure to check the last box (“Add [Link] to PATH”)
g: Wait for the installation to complete
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h: Once done, go to command prompt (if you are on Windows, press window button + R, and type in
“cmd” and press Enter)
i: Write “python –version” and hit Enter
g: If you see a Python version, means your installation is successful
This concludes our installation of Python.
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Step 2: Install PyCharm:
Now that we have installed Python, we have a programming language to code in. But to write our code
and run it, we need an IDE or Integrated Development Environment. IDE is a software application for
programmers. You can use it to write, edit, and organize code more easily. Plus there are additional
features for debugging, syntax check, library installation etc.
There are many IDEs available in market, each suited to a coding language. For Python, my
recommendation is to install PyCharm, which is a nice IDE with host of features. To do so,
a: Google for “download pycharm”
b: Look for the result from “jetbrains” which is the parent company of PyCharm
c: PyCharm has 2 versions – a “Professional Edition” which is paid, and a “Community Edition” which is
free. We would be using the latter, free version
d: Run the downloaded exe file. Once again, if you are unsure of your permissions, its best to run as an
administrator
e: Keep clicking “Next”. You do not need to change any option
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It will take couple of minutes for the installation to complete
f: Once the installation is completed, you will get below screen. This means you are all set.
g: Check the box for “Run PyCharm Community Edition” and click on Finish.
This will open PyCharm, it will take few minutes to get everything ready the first time it opens.
h: Click on “New Project”
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i: On the next screen, DO NOT change any option. Let’s use the default options that are populated. You
should also check here that the Python version shown is the one you installed earlier.
j: Click on Create. Again, it will take few minutes to create the virtual environment. Please be patient
k: We will do a quick test to make sure things are all good. Click on File >> New
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l: Click on “Python File”, and enter any name on next screen (I entered “test”)
m: Write print('hello world'). Right-click anywhere on the blank screen and click on Run
You will see a small window pop at the bottom that says – hello world
This means Python, PyCharm are installed correctly
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This concludes our installation of PyCharm.
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Step 3: Install Libraries:
Now that we have installed Python and PyCharm, we are all set for the last step, which is installing
libraries. Think of libraries as add-ons, which help you do tasks easily. For example, to read the pdf file,
we will download a library called PyPdf2 which provides several enhanced options to work with pdfs.
Before we install any libraries, it’s important to make sure you are working on the right Python version.
Click on the Python version name at bottom right, and make sure it shows the installed Python version.
Unless you have multiple Python versions installed, you would see only one option here.
Now we are all set to install libraries.
a: Click on the “Terminal” option at bottom left:
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Or you can click on View >> Tool Windows >> Terminal
b: Once the terminal opens, you are ready to use it for installing libraries.
c: You can type in –> pip install <<library name>> , example pip install streamlit
(PIP is the installer package for Python, and it got downloaded when we installed Python. And
“streamlit” is the name of the library we want to install)
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d: Once you hit enter, the install will start. Most libraries will also install other dependencies so it can
take a while. Please be patient.
e: Once installation completes, you can install other libraries.
f: You can also install multiple libraries together, by putting one name after another, like:
pip install pypdf2 langchain faiss-cpu
(these libraries are good to start with. As we progress in the course, we will install more libraries)
Library management can be sometime complicated, and you may get errors like Module not found,
Import Error etc. In that case, simply do a pip install <<library name>> for which ever library is reported
as missing.
You can also,
- uninstall a library by writing –> pip uninstall <<library name>>
- download a specific version of the library (compatible with your Python version) by writing the
version name in command –> pip install streamlit==1.29.0
- view list of all installed libraries and their versions -> pip list
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Remember if you faced any issue and wanted to uninstall Python or PyCharm you can do so
from Control Panel. Make sure to restart your computer post that.
If you face any issue in the above setups, please use the Q&A option to report your issue with
the steps, error message and screenshot and we will definitely help you out.
Now we are all set to start coding in the next modules. Good Luck & Keep Learning!!
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