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%matplotlib inline

.. _tut_intro_pyton:

Introduction to Python

Python is a modern, general-purpose, object-oriented, high-level programming language. First make sure you have a working python environment and dependencies (see :ref:install_python_and_mne_python). If you are completely new to python, don't worry, it's just like any other programming language, only easier. Here are a few great resources to get you started:

SciPy lectures <http://scipy-lectures.github.io>_
Learn X in Y minutes: Python <https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/python/>_
NumPy for MATLAB users <https://docs.scipy.org/doc/numpy-dev/user/numpy-for-matlab-users.html>_ # noqa

We highly recommend watching the Scipy videos and reading through these sites to get a sense of how scientific computing is done in Python.

Here are few bulletin points to familiarise yourself with python:

Everything is dynamically typed. No need to declare simple data structures or variables separately.



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a = 3
print(type(a))
b = [1, 2.5, 'This is a string']
print(type(b))
c = 'Hello world!'
print(type(c))

If you come from a background of matlab, remember that indexing in python starts from zero:



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a = [1, 2, 3, 4]
print('This is the zeroth value in the list: {}'.format(a[0]))

No need to reinvent the wheel. Scipy and Numpy are battle field tested libraries that have a vast variety of functions for your needs. Consult the documentation and remember, you can always ask the interpreter for help with a question mark at the end of a function::

import numpy as np np.arange?