Anaconda

1. What is Anaconda?

Source: wikimedia.org

Anaconda is an open-source Python and R distribution that includes access to different IDEs, such as Spyder and pyCharm, as well as Jupyter Notebook among others. It is aiming at simplifying package management and claims to be the “world's most popular data science plattform” (1).

2. What's included in Anaconda Distribution?

Included in the basic Anaconda distribution is the Conda package and environment management system as well as the applications Anaconda Navigator, a Powershell terminal, JupyterLab and Jupyter Notebook, as well as the Spyder IDE. These modules are briefly introduced in the following.

Conda

 “Conda is an open-source package and environment management system that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Conda quickly installs, runs, and updates packages and their dependencies. It also easily creates, saves, loads, and switches between environments” (2) on a local computer. 

Anaconda Navigator

 “Desktop application to easily manage integrated applications, packages, and environments” (2) with a graphical user interface instead of using the command line.

Jupyter Notebook

 “Web-based, interactive computing notebook environment to edit and run human-readable documents while describing data analysis.” (3)

JupyterLab

 “Extensible Environment for interactive and reproducible computing, based on the Jupyter Notebook and Architecture.” (3)

Spyder IDE

 A scientific Integrated Python Development Environment “with advanced editing, interactive testing, debugging and runtime introspection features.” (3)

3. Basic features/properties of Anaconda

The three main features Anaconda claims is that the distribution is

1. "open-source",
2. "user-friendly" and
3. "trusted".

This means that the code is freely accessible and assessable for projects in any field. Moreover, the intuitive platform allows for easy package and environment handling, all while the “securely hosted packages and artifacts are methodically tested and regularly updated” (2) to avoid conflicts, bugs or scams.

4. How to install Anaconda on my machine

Anaconda Distribution can be installed free of charge for private use for Windows, macOS and Linux. The newest version currently features Python 3.9.

Its installation process is straight forward: Download the installation file, choose a path and follow the steps. No account is needed. As a student you can choose to sign up for Anaconda Nucleus for “Community membership, unlimited environment backups (and) exclusive data science content” (4) for free.

Click here to directly download the installer for your operating system. For Windows and MacOS, graphical installers are provided. For Linux, there are only installation scripts that have to be run from the terminal.

For an in-depth description and links to download Anaconda for older operating systems, you can make use of their extensive documentation.

If a more minimalistic approach is preferred, Miniconda can be installed. This version just includes conda, Python and necessary dependencies: "Install Miniconda" Install Miniconda

In case of issues during the installation process, please refer to the help page.

5. Using Conda

Conda is a command line tool used in a terminal to interact with Anaconda. It is a package and environment management software. It can be used to install or update packages, create, save and load environments. To start using conda, open a terminal, type conda and press enter.

To open a terminal on windows, press CTRL + R, type cmd. exe and press enter. On macOS, open launcher and type terminal into the search box, clicking the icon when it appears. On Linux, the shortcut Super + T should do the job, otherwise it can be found in the applications menu.

References

(1) https://www.anaconda.com/

(2) https://www.anaconda.com/products/distribution

(3) https://docs.anaconda.com/navigator/overview/

(4) https://www.anaconda.com/pricing#

(5) https://www.dominodatalab.com/data-science-dictionary/anaconda/