Welcome to the CSAEA Python Sandbox, where you can use JupyterLab and Binder to code along in class or practice ephemeral (temporary) coding. Note that Binder will not save your work! This is by design. Think of it as a whiteboard or experimental lab. You can create, read, update, and delete files any way you want, with no consequence! Experiment, play, and break things.
Once you launch the JupyterLab Binder, it might take a while to get going — just let it do its thing.
- Right click the Binder badge above and launch your JupyterLab workspace in a new tab or window.
- Wait!
- After it launches, then you can navigate this repo as if it were your own.
- Dive into the content with the class, or at your own pace. Just remember it will disappear if you stop using it!
- If you need to install any libraries, use pip. Ex:
pip install pandas
NOTE: It can take 1 to 10 minutes to load, so while you wait -- check out one of these links:
- Official Python Documentation: Python, from the source. Ideal for anyone starting out.
- Learn Python: Tutorials and exercises in one neat package.
- W3Schools Python Tutorial: An easy introduction to Python with plenty of examples.
- Python Cheatsheet: A concise but complete Python reference, perfect for quick look-ups.
- Beginner Python Challenges: A free list of beginners Python challenges.
- Career Python Challenges: A free resource of easy to difficult python challenges found in job interviews.
Ephemera e·phem·er·a /əˈfem(ə)rə/
noun things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time.
In this repo, you'll find a variety of coding exercises, which we call ephemera. Use them in the spirit of play, experimentation, and experience. There are no consequences, scores, or ratings. Just pure code.
The purpose of them is to strengthen your skills, your memory, and your speed. Similar to a physical exercise, like swimming laps, or practicing shooting a goal, or hitting a target, the purpose is to BULK UP!
The purpose is to become more experienced, and stronger as programmer, rather than develop and save a deployable program.
Ephemeral refers to something temporary, lasting a very short time. Ephemeral coding (ie, temporary coding) is a learning technique that focuses on writing code that disappears. Why? Because it emphasizes your understanding and comprehension of the code, rather than the syntax itself. In time, you will learn to think like a programmer, and not a copy/paster.
To make your own modifications and save your work, follow these steps to fork the CSAEA Sandbox repository and utilize GitHub Codespaces:
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Fork the Repository:
- Click on the Fork button in the upper right corner of the CSAEA GitHub Repository. This will create a copy of the repository in your own GitHub account.
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Open in GitHub Codespaces:
- Once your fork is created, navigate to your new repository in your GitHub account.
- Click the green Code button, and then select Open with Codespaces. If you don’t see this option, you may need to enable GitHub Codespaces in your account settings. (Note: you can actually use any IDE you want, but Codespaces is a good way to learn the ropes in the browser!)
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Edit and Save Your Work:
- In GitHub Codespaces, you’ll have a full-fledged development environment where you can edit files, run code, and save your changes directly to your repository.
- Use the integrated terminal to run any necessary commands and install dependencies as needed.
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Commit Your Changes:
- Once you’ve made changes, use the Git panel in Codespaces to commit and push your changes back to your GitHub repository. This ensures that your work is saved and can be accessed later.
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Launch Your Own Binder:
- To run your updated code in an interactive environment, you can create a Binder link for your forked repository. Just replace the repository link in the Binder badge above with your own forked repository URL.
By following these steps, you can customize the CSAEA Sandbox to your liking and retain all your work!
JupyterLab is a robust, web-based interactive development environment (IDE). It allows you to write code in notebooks, visualize data, and share your work—all in one place.
Some highlights:
- Interactive Notebooks: Code, text, images, and visualizations in a single document.
- File Management: Keep your scripts, notebooks, and data organized in one workspace.
For more details, check out the Jupyter website and the JupyterLab docs. The community is also a great place for support.
Binder makes GitHub repositories come to life by turning them into interactive Jupyter notebooks. It’s a seamless way to share your code and make it executable directly in a browser—no installation needed.
Binder creates a Docker image of your repository, bundles all the dependencies, and provides a working environment where users can run your notebooks. It’s an efficient way to make code accessible and reproducible.
Thanks for visiting the CSAEA Educational Binder Sandbox! Take a deep dive, explore, and enjoy the ride.