02. Your Environment

What You Need

For this course, you need:

• Python 3.12 or newer
• A text editor (VS Code, Neovim, Zed, anything that saves plain text)
• A terminal (bash, zsh, PowerShell)

That is it. Do not install JupyterLab, Docker, or anything else yet. You need to understand plain Python first.

Installing Python

macOS and Linux

Your system likely has Python 3 already. Check:

python3 --version

If you see 3.12.x or higher, you are set. If not, use a package manager:

# macOS with Homebrew
brew install [email protected]

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3.12

Windows

Download the installer from python.org/downloads. During installation, check "Add Python to PATH". Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and verify:

python --version

Your First Script

Create a file called hello.py:

print("Hello, AI")

Run it:

python3 hello.py

If you see "Hello, AI", your environment works.

Virtual Environments (Why They Matter)

Every project needs its own environment. This prevents version conflicts between projects.

# Create a virtual environment
python3 -m venv myproject

# Activate it
# macOS/Linux:
source myproject/bin/activate
# Windows:
myproject\Scripts\activate

# Now install packages only for this project
pip install numpy

When activated, your terminal shows (myproject) prefix. Packages you install go into this isolated environment.

Installing NumPy and Pandas

For chapters 10 onward, you need NumPy and Pandas:

pip install numpy pandas requests

Verify installation:

import numpy as np
import pandas as pd
print(f"NumPy {np.__version__}, Pandas {pd.__version__}")