Python is a general purpose programming language that is useful for writing scripts to work effectively and reproducibly with data.
This is an introduction to Python designed for participants with no programming experience. This course covers:
- Some basic information about Python syntax.
- The Jupyter notebook interface.
- How to import CSV files.
- Using the Pandas package to work with data frames.
- How to calculate summary information from a data frame.
- Brief introduction to plotting.
- How to work with databases directly from Python.
During the first part of the course, we will use our workstation or laptop to run the exercises. On the second day, we will take the methods we have learnt in the previous sessions and use them on ARCHER2, the UK’s National Supercomputer. As part of this, we will briefly cover:
- What is ARCHER2.
- How to connect to ARCHER2.
- Setting Python up on ARCHER2.
- how to run jobs on the ARCHER2 backend.
Our goal here is to run the exercises from the first part of the course on ARCHER2’s data analysis nodes.
Prerequisites:
This lesson requires a working copy of Python:
Pre-course setup:
Please follow the setup guidance prior to the course.
Requirements:
Participants must bring a laptop with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) that they have administrative privileges on.
They are also required to abide by the ARCHER2 Code of Conduct.