This repo contains instructions to setup what you need for this course.
Python is a general programming language. To use it best for data science and economics, you may want to combine it with (1) Jupyter notebooks and (2) Python scientific libraries. The most convenient way to install Python (version 3.7), Jupyter notebooks and Python libraries altogether is through the Anaconda distribution. Please follow the steps below before the beginning of the course.
- Step 1. Download Anaconda here.
- Step 2. Launch Anaconda and select Jupyter notebook or Jupyterlab.
This is how a notebook looks like.
We will use Jupyter notebooks as the main graphical interface to Python throughout the course. You can read more about how to install Anaconda here. You can read about other popular Python IDEs here.
Git is a version control system, i.e. a way to keep track of the whole history of things you do on a file. It is useful to save, manage and edit all the different versions of your project. GitHub is a web service that allows to conveniently work with Git. It allows you to create your own directories, see projects of other people and collaborate with them. There are four subscription plans to GitHub. We will work with the free one, which implies that everybody on GitHub can see our codes. However, with your academic email account, you can get a Pro account for free and create private repositories as well. You can read more about GitHub here and here.
Notice that GitHub offers very limited storing space (you cannot upload files >100MB). Therefore, it is by no means a substitute for a cloud or a physical hard disk. You should only use GitHub to save source files (.txt, .tex, .m, .R, .do, .py, .doc,...) and light pdf. The main goal of GitHub is to help you to create different versions of your file and to easily collaborate with coauthors.
In this course, we interact with GitHub mostly through the GitHub Desktop application. In Session 2 we discuss how to do it. For the moment, you can set up your own GitHub environment by following the steps below. Please, make sure to do it before the beginning of the course.
- Step 1. Create your own github account here.
- Step 2. Download GitHub Desktop on your computer. The installation process creates a folder named "GitHub". Make sure to know where it is located and/or change its directory where you prefer (e.g. Desktop).