General Information

Where: This training will take place online. The instructors will provide you with the information you will need to connect to this meeting.

When: Jan 25-26 and Feb 1-2, 2022. Calendar invites will be sent to all participants.

Requirements: Participants must have access to a computer with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.). They should have a few specific software packages installed (listed below). UKAEA-managed Windows machines have restricted permissions but should be able to install the requisite software. Please see instructions below for further details.

Accessibility: We are dedicated to providing a positive and accessible learning environment for all. Please notify the instructors in advance of the workshop if you require any accommodations or if there is anything we can do to make this workshop more accessible to you.

Contact: Please email matthew.bluteau@ukaea.uk for more information.

Roles: To learn more about the roles at the workshop (who will be doing what), refer to our Workshop FAQ.

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Code of Conduct

Everyone who participates in Carpentries activities is required to conform to the Code of Conduct. This document also outlines how to report an incident if needed.

Report a Code of Conduct Incident

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Setup

To participate in this workshop, you will need access to software as described below. In addition, you will need an up-to-date web browser.

First off, please check the “Setup” page of the lesson site for instructions to follow to obtain the software and data you will need to follow the lesson.

Some notes for UKAEA Windows users

• Git for Windows can be installed using the Software Center/Application Catalog.
• You can download and run a standard Python installer from https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/, but should ensure that the option to install for all users is not selected (to avoid the need for admin privileges).
• The PyCharm installer can be run using your standard login (and without an admin account). It is important to choose an installation path where you have write permissions (i.e. not the default path). The PyCharm installer probably won’t run perfectly without admin rights, but our testing has shown that it does yield a functional application. In particular, you might notice it fails to create a shortcut from the start menu.
• If you already have Windows Subsytem for Linux (WSL), then there is an alternate route.
  • Use git and bash from within the WSL terminal.
  • Ensure you have X-forwarding set up. These instructions require a VPN connection.
  • Install PyCharm with the following commands from inside WSL terminal:

    wget https://download.jetbrains.com/python/pycharm-community-2021.3.1.tar.gz
    sudo tar xzf pycharm-*.tar.gz -C /opt/
    alias pycharm=/opt/pycharm-community-2021.3.1/bin/pycharm.sh  # Put this into .bashrc
    pycharm
    

A note about IDEs

The course recommends and provides instructions for using PyCharm as an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). However, because this is an intermediate-level course, we expect that a number of participants will already have some experience using an IDE or comparable advanced code editor (e.g. Vim, Emacs). You are welcome to use your editor of choice for the course if you are confident that you can achieve similar functionality that is described for PyCharm, but be warned that we are unlikely to be able to support you if something goes wrong. At least two of the instructors/helpers use VSCode, so we will be able to support you if you choose that IDE. Regardless of your decision, we recommend that you still install PyCharm as a fallback. What your IDE setup needs to achieve:

• Syntax highlighting, indentation, and autocompletion
• Recognition of virtual environments and setting the correct Python interpreter
• Running the Python debugger from the IDE and setting breakpoints at specific lines
• Integration with pytest and the ability to launch individual tests from the editor

Install the videoconferencing client

If you haven't used Zoom before, go to the official website to download and install the Zoom client for your computer.

Set up your workspace

Like other Carpentries workshops, you will be learning by "coding along" with the Instructors. To do this, you will need to have both the window for the tool you will be learning about (a terminal, RStudio, your web browser, etc..) and the window for the Zoom video conference client open. In order to see both at once, we recommend using one of the following set up options:

• Two monitors: If you have two monitors, plan to have the tool you are learning up on one monitor and the video conferencing software on the other.
• Two devices: If you don't have two monitors, do you have another device (tablet, smartphone) with a medium to large sized screen? If so, try using the smaller device as your video conference connection and your larger device (laptop or desktop) to follow along with the tool you will be learning about.
• Divide your screen: If you only have one device and one screen, practice having two windows (the video conference program and one of the tools you will be using at the workshop) open together. How can you best fit both on your screen? Will it work better for you to toggle between them using a keyboard shortcut? Try it out in advance to decide what will work best for you.

This blog post includes detailed information on how to set up your screen to follow along during the workshop.

We maintain a list of common issues that occur during installation as a reference for instructors that may be useful on the Configuration Problems and Solutions wiki page.

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Collaborative Notes

We will use this collaborative document for chatting, taking notes, and sharing URLs and bits of code.

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Surveys

There is a pre-workshop survey to be completed before the workshop starts to help us judge the experience level of participants. There will then be a daily post-session survey to collect your feedback about how the session went.

Pre-workshop Survey

Daily Post-session Survey

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Schedule

This workshop is teaching a lesson in The Carpentries Incubator. Please check the lesson homepage for a more detailed list of lesson sections and estimated timings.

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