Note
Check out our guide for installing Python 3 on OS X.
![Air Air](/uploads/1/1/9/8/119860348/943313713.jpg)
IPython’s in-built magic functions are extremely powerful. There are two types of magic functions. Line magics, which work very much like DOS commands. Cell magics, which work on multiple lines of code. We shall learn about line magic functions and cell magic functions in detail in subsequent chapters. IPython Launcher is a simple and easy to use application that allows you to launch IPython Notebook inside your mac's status menu. With this open source application any user can open profiles directory, configure IPython and configure IPython Notebook.
Mac OS X comes with Python 2.7 out of the box.
![Python Python](/uploads/1/1/9/8/119860348/763477504.jpg)
You do not need to install or configure anything else to use Python. Having saidthat, I would strongly recommend that you install the tools and librariesdescribed in the next section before you start building Python applications forreal-world use. In particular, you should always install Setuptools, as it makesit much easier for you to install and manage other third-party Python libraries.
Beginning with version 6.0, IPython stopped supporting compatibility with Python versions lower than 3.3 including all versions of Python 2.7. If you are looking for an IPython version compatible with Python 2.7, please use the IPython 5.x LTS release and refer to its documentation (LTS is. Download Mac OS X 64-bit/32-bit installer; Python 2.7.12 - June 25, 2016. Download Mac OS X 32-bit i386/PPC installer; Download Mac OS X 64-bit/32-bit installer; Python 3.4.4 - Dec. Download Mac OS X 32-bit i386/PPC installer; Download Mac OS X 64-bit/32-bit installer; Python 3.5.1 - Dec. Download Mac OS X 32-bit i386/PPC. Installing IPython¶ There are multiple ways of installing IPython. This page contains simplified installation instructions that should work for most users. Our official documentation contains more detailed instructions for manual installation targeted at advanced users and developers.
Python For Mac
The version of Python that ships with OS X is great for learning, but it’s notgood for development. The version shipped with OS X may be out of date from theofficial current Python release,which is considered the stable production version.
Doing it Right¶
Let’s install a real version of Python.
Ipython Macro
Before installing Python, you’ll need to install a C compiler. The fastest wayis to install the Xcode Command Line Tools by running
xcode-select--install
. You can also download the full version ofXcode from the Mac App Store, or theminimal but unofficialOSX-GCC-Installerpackage.Note
If you already have Xcode installed, do not install OSX-GCC-Installer.In combination, the software can cause issues that are difficult todiagnose.
Note
If you perform a fresh install of Xcode, you will also need to add thecommandline tools by running
xcode-select--install
on the terminal.While OS X comes with a large number of Unix utilities, those familiar withLinux systems will notice one key component missing: a decent package manager.Homebrew fills this void.
To install Homebrew, open
Terminal
oryour favorite OS X terminal emulator and runThe script will explain what changes it will make and prompt you before theinstallation begins.Once you’ve installed Homebrew, insert the Homebrew directory at the topof your
PATH
environment variable. You can do this by adding the followingline at the bottom of your ~/.profile
fileIpython Notebook For Mac
Now, we can install Python 2.7:
Because
python@2
is a “keg”, we need to update our PATH
again, to point at our new installation:Homebrew names the executable
python2
so that you can still run the system Python via the executable python
.Setuptools & Pip¶
Homebrew installs Setuptools and
pip
for you.Setuptools enables you to download and install any compliant Pythonsoftware over a network (usually the Internet) with a single command(
easy_install
). It also enables you to add this network installationcapability to your own Python software with very little work.pip
is a tool for easily installing and managing Python packages,that is recommended over easy_install
. It is superior to easy_install
in several ways,and is actively maintained.Virtual Environments¶
A Virtual Environment (commonly referred to as a ‘virtualenv’) is a tool to keep the dependencies required by different projectsin separate places, by creating virtual Python environments for them. It solves the“Project X depends on version 1.x but, Project Y needs 4.x” dilemma, and keepsyour global site-packages directory clean and manageable.
For example, you can work on a project which requires Django 1.10 while alsomaintaining a project which requires Django 1.8.
Ipython Notebook
To start using this and see more information: Virtual Environments docs.
Ipython On Windows
This page is a remixed version of another guide,which is available under the same license.