Get Python

Python 3

Python 3 is the officially-supported version and is the one that is used in the Advanced Laboratories. There are different releases of Python 3 (e.g. 3.8) and it is recommened to use the most recent release, but in particular a release of 3.6 or later.

Anaconda Python Distribution

Anaconda Python is the preferred way to install Python. The distribution includes hundreds of packages including essential scientific libraries including Scipy, Numpy, Matplotlib, AstroPy and more. It is available for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.

Download Anaconda here

Do not use Python 2!

Python 2 was officially sunset in early 2020.

A lot of basic Python 3 code will run in Python 2 but subtle differences can cause unexpected behaviour, especially with division of integers!

Last updated on Sep 8, 2022