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Sateesh
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A free version of "Enthought Python Distribution" is available. Modified to indicate the same and remove the statement that 'Enthought is not free'
71 lines
2.9 KiB
ReStructuredText
71 lines
2.9 KiB
ReStructuredText
=======================
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Scientific Applications
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=======================
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Context
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:::::::
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Python is frequently used for high-performance scientific applications. Python
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is widely used in academia and scientific projects because it is easy to write,
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and it performs really well.
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Due to its high performance nature, scientific computing in python often refers
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to external libraries, typically written in faster languages (like C, or FORTRAN
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for matrix operations). The main libraries used are `NumPy`_ and
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`SciPy`_.
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Libraries
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NumPy
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-----
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`NumPy <http://numpy.scipy.org/>`_ is a low level library written in C (and
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FORTRAN) for high level mathematical functions. NumPy cleverly overcomes the
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problem of running slower algorithms on Python by using multidimensional arrays
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and functions that operate on arrays. Any algorithm can then be expressed as a
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function on arrays, allowing the algorithms to be run quickly.
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NumPy is part of the SciPy project, and is released as a separate library so
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people who only need the basic requirements can just use NumPy.
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NumPy is compatible with Python versions 2.4 through to 2.7.2 and 3.1+.
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SciPy
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-----
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`SciPy <http://scipy.org/>`_ is a library that uses Numpy for more mathematical
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function. SciPy uses NumPy arrays as its basic data structure. SciPy comes with
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modules for various commonly used tasks in scientific programing like linear
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algebra, integration (calculus), ordinary differential equation solvers and
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signal processing.
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Enthought
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---------
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Installing NumPy and SciPy can be a daunting task. Which is why the
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`Enthought Python distribution <http://enthought.com/>`_ was created. With
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Enthought, scientific python has never been easier (one click to install about
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100 scientific python packages). The Enthought Python Distribution comes in two
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variants: a free version `EPD Free <http://enthought.com/products/epd_free.php>`_
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and a paid version with various `pricing options.
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<http://enthought.com/products/epd_sublevels.php>`_
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Matplotlib
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----------
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`matplotlib <http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/>`_ is a flexible plotting
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library for creating interactive 2D and 3D plots that can also be saved as
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manuscript-quality figures. The API in many ways reflects that of `MATLAB <http://www.mathworks.com/products/matlab/>`_,
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easing transition of MATLAB users to Python. Many examples, along with the
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source code to re-create them, can be browsed at the `matplotlib gallery <http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/gallery.html>`_.
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Resources
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:::::::::
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Many people who do scientific computing are on Windows. And yet many of the
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scientific computing packages are notoriously difficult to build and install.
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`Christoph Gohlke <http://www.lfd.uci.edu/~gohlke/pythonlibs/>`_ however, has
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compiled a list of Windows binaries for many useful Python packages. The list
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of packages has grown from a mainly scientific python resource to a more
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general list. It might be a good idea to check it out if you're on Windows.
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