Community Data Science Workshops (Core)/Day 0 Setup and tutorial

Welcome to the first Friday evening setup session for the Community Data Science Workshop Winter 2020!

When you get to UW and get setup, please do the following things:


 * Start your laptop and get on the wireless network.
 * Work through the goals on this page in order. It should take between 2 and 3 hours. Lots of mentors will be around to help troubleshoot and to answer questions — don't hesitate to ask!
 * When you've finished all of the setup goals, raise your hand and a mentor will come over and go through a checklist with you to make sure you're all set for tomorrow.

Please be sure to do the checkoff before you leave — it'll make sure that you are in good shape for tomorrow.

Goal #0: Connect to the UW Wireless
If you already have a UW NetID of your own, you should be all set with the network.

If you are not from UW, you will have to use a temporary shared NetID which we have created for the conference. We'll write the username and password up on whiteboard in each of the rooms we are using. Also, make sure you agree with the UW's policy on the ethical use of computers and networks.

Goal #1: Set up Python
(Estimated time: 5 minutes)

First things first: We need to install the Python programming language. Please complete the instructions below for your operating system:


 * Windows
 * OS X

Note: If you are running GNU/Linux or another operating system, please contact a mentor for help!

Goal #2: Practice running Python code from an existing notebook
(Estimated time: 5 minutes)

Interactive Python programming at a Python prompt is great for short pieces of code and for testing ideas. For longer code, it can be easier to save the code in a file, and execute the contents of that file (aka a Python script). In this section, we'll practice running Python scripts.


 * Python scripts in Jupyter

Goal #3: Download the Saturday projects
(Estimated time: 10 minutes)

In advance of tomorrow's lecture and afternoon projects, please download the necessary files.

&raquo; Click here and follow the instructions to download the Baby Names project. &laquo;

Goal #4: Start learning Python!
(Estimated time: 60 - 90 minutes)

It's time to start learning, reading, and writing some Python! Tonight, you'll work through a self-directed tutorial. Saturday morning, we'll have an interactive lecture to cover more Python basics.

&raquo; Click here and work through tonight's tutorial &laquo;

Goal #5: Practice Python using LearnPython
(Estimated time: 30 - 60 minutes)

It's time to use what we've learned in the tutorial and get some practice thinking about and solving problems in Python.

&raquo; Click here and complete the two lessons on Learnpython &laquo;

To give you this practice, please work through the first two exercises in the following Internet tutorial series called LearnPython (there are many lessons, so don't just keep hit "Next" or you're never finish!):


 * Hello, World
 * Variables and Types

Goal #6: Checkoff
Wave down a mentor when you're ready to check out for the evening. Together you will go through the following check-off steps:


 * Start Jupyter and make sure the home page loads.
 * Navigate to the desktop (in Jupyter!) and create a new jupyter notebook.
 * In that notebook, type:  and then Shift-Enter to run the command.
 * To test the baby names project installation: navigate to the babynames directory, load the notebook called "BabyNames.ipynb" and run the first cell. If you get no output, then you have done it correctly!
 * Walk through the LearnPython exercise that you had the most difficulty with.
 * Tell your mentor if there any topics you'd like to learn more about or projects you have in mind. We're going to compare notes after this setup session and would find this information helpful.

If you have any other questions about the tutorial, project setup, or learnpython, now is a great time to ask!

Congratulations!
You are done with the Friday portion of this Workshop. We'll see you at 9:45am tomorrow.

DO NOT BE LATE: you don't want to miss the beginning of the interactive lecture!

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback on tonight's material, don't hesitate to let a mentor know.