Ling/CSE 472: Using Python for this class

Note: Please post to the Canvas discussion board if these instructions are inaccurate.

On a Windows PC, using the command line

• Make sure your 'path' environment variable points to your Python executable (perhaps C:\Python25).
  See this page for instructions on how to set the path variable in XP.
  In Vista, find the control for setting environment variables in 'Start/Control Panel/System and Maintenance/System' and select "Advanced system settings".
• Use notepad to save a copy of the script you're modifying, with a .py extension, in the directory of your choice.
  (e.g. "C:\My Documents\Ling472\Assignment 1\elizalike.py")
• Open a command prompt: From the start menu either
  select 'All Programs/Accessories/Command Prompt', or
  select 'run', and type "cmd" in the window that pops up.
• type "cd" followed by the path to the directory containing your copy of the script.
  (e.g. "cd C:\My Documents\Ling472\Assignment 1")
• To run the script, type "python filename.py" in the command window.
• Edit your script, save it, and test it again with "python filename.py".

On a Windows PC, using the Graphical User Interface

Note: this works best for scripts that do not take any arguments.

• Save a copy of the script you're modifying, with a .py extension, in the directory of your choice.
• Associate the .py extension with the Python Interpreter:
  In your directory, select 'Folder Options' from the tools menu.
  In the File Types tab, click 'New', and enter the extension 'py'
  click 'Change' and select the Python Command Line Interpreter
• To run the script, double click it.

On Dante or one of the Treehouse machines

• Log in to Dante using ssh and type S at the initial screen to get a shell.
• Or login to a Treehouse workstation.
• Make a directory for your scripts: mkdir pythonscripts
• Go to that directory: cd pythonscripts
• Make a copy of the starter script you're working on. Save it with a .py extension.
• Use a text editor such as emacs or pico to edit the script.
• To run a script type
  
  python filename.py
  
  
• Edit your script and save it, and run it again to test changes.
• You may find it helpful to have multiple terminal windows open, at least one for editing the script and one for running it.

On a Mac running OS X

• Make a directory, say, inside ~/Documents.
• Save a copy of the python script you're working on in that directory, with the extension .py.
• Edit the python script with emacs or textedit. (NB: With textedit, you'll need to make sure to save the file as plain text rather than rtf.)
• To run the script, in your terminal window, type
  
  python filename.py
  
  
• Edit the script with your favorite text editor, and save it.
• Run it again from the terminal window to see the effect of your changes.