getting-started.md

Getting started

Welcome to the Swiss AI Center getting started guide!

This guide will help you to get started with the Swiss AI Center projects.

Prerequisites

In order to run the Swiss AI Center projects locally, you will need to install the following tools:

• Prerequisites
  • Install an IDE
  • Install Docker and Docker Compose
  • Install Git
  • Install minikube (optional)
  • Install Python
• Follow the tutorials
  • Start the Core engine
  • Create new services
  • Create pipelines
• Go further

Install an IDE

(e.g. PyCharm or Visual Studio Code)

An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development.

The following IDEs are recommended for Python development:

• PyCharm "The Python IDE for Professional Developers"
• Visual Studio Code "Free. Open source. Runs everywhere."

Install Docker and Docker Compose

Docker "delivers software in packages called containers".

Follow the Install Docker Engine - docs.docker.com guide to install and configure Docker.

Install Git

Git is a free and open-source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.

Follow the Git installation tutorial - github.com to install and configure Git.

Install minikube (optional)

!!! info

This is only required if you want to run the Core engine locally using
Kubernetes.

minikube "quickly sets up a local Kubernetes cluster on macOS, Linux, and Windows".

Follow the Get Started! - minikube.sigs.k8s.io guide to install and configure minikube.

Install Python

Follow the Python installation tutorial - realpython.com to install and configure Python.

Follow the tutorials

The tutorials will guide you through the Swiss AI Center projects and help you understand the concepts behind them.

Start the Core engine

• Start the Core engine

Create new services

• Create a service to rotate an image (generic template)
• Create a service to summarize a text using an existing model (generic template)
• Create a service to detect anomalies using a model built from scratch (model from scratch template)

Create pipelines

• Create a pipeline that blurs faces in an image

Go further

Once you have a good understanding of the Swiss AI Center projects, you can start to create your own services! The How-to guides will help you in the process.

The Reference page contains all the projects we manage at the Swiss AI Center.

The Explanations page contains all the explanations about the technologies/framework/workflows we use at the Swiss AI Center.