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Getting started
This first bit is for Mac OSX users (like me!). If you have a Windows or Linux machine, skip this section and go straight to installing a Python distribution.
Prior to installing the software below you will want to optimize your Mac for scientific computing and software development by installing XCode Developer Tools with Command-Line Options. XCode Developer Tools is available via the App Store: visit the App store and search for "XCode", and then download and install the XCode Developer Tools App (this may take a while as the file is large!). Next you need to install Command-Line Tools. Command-Line Tools is an optional add-on to XCode Developer Tools. Open XCode and visit the Components tab of the Downloads preferences panel within XCode preferences. You should see a number of optional add-ons to install, one of which will be Command-Line Tools. Check the box next to Command-Line Tools and install it. More details can be found in the XCode documentation. If you don't find the documentation helpful, then try Google.
Although most computers come with a base Python distribution pre-installed, we are going to use the Enthought Canopy distribution (which is free for academic use). You will need to register for an account with Enthought using you University email address (unless of course you already have an account!). Enthought will send you an email with a link which you need to click in order to validate your account, at which point you can download Canopy. Detailed instructions for installing Canopy on Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux users are available.
If you have previously installed the Enthought Python Distribution (EPD) on your computer and wish to remove it prior to installing Canopy you can be so by following these instructions (this is not actually necessary!).
Proper version control is a critical component of doing high quality, reproducible, computational work. Although there are many alternatives, we are going to use Git. Git is an excellent, distributed (i.e., good for collaborative research!) version control system. You can download both the bash shell version and a Windows GUI version from the Git downloads website. During the installation, you will be asked if you want to add git to your system path so that it can be accessed directly from the command line. Make sure to select this option during the install process. Finally, after downloading and installing Git, you will want to set up a GitHub account.