Computational Physics at SFU uses Python 3 from the Anaconda distribution. The documentation on this website will cover using Jupyter notebooks on the SFU Syzygy online servers.  As an alternative, you may also install Python on your personal computer. 

Getting started with Jupyter, SyZyGy and running scripts

To access SFU SYZYGY, navigate to sfu.syzygy.ca and login using your SFU AD/CAS credentials.

Testing Python / Jupyter software

We will explore how to use the Jupyter notebook environment in more detail later in the tutorials. First test that your installation is successful:

• Download the notebook histogram_demo.ipynb, which is a variant of "histgram demo" from the matplotlib gallery.
• Upload the notebook to Syzygy, open it, and run it by pressing the "play button" or "Shift-Enter" keyboard buttons.
• After processing, the result in the output row should resemble the following:

You are now ready to further explore Python.

Getting Started with Python on your own Personal Computer

Python can be installed on your personal computer as well.

Installing Anaconda Python 3

To install this software:

• Read the instructions on installing (below) to the end.
• Then try to download, install, and set up Python 3 on your computer.
• Finally, test out your distribution and get familiar with software by working through "Testing Python / Jupyter software".

Here are the instructions on installing:

1. Go to https://anaconda.com and navigate to "Product | Individual Edition (Open Source Distribution)"
2. Click on the Download button and select from your platform of choice for your computer (Windows/Mac/Linux) -- You will typically choose 64-bit for newer computers.
3. Install the software following the prompts.

Getting started with Anaconda Python 3/Jupyter and running scripts

By this point, you should have installed Anaconda Python 3.

Below are a few steps to test your distribution and get familiar with how to run your new Python 3 software. You will use the Jupyter notebook program to edit and run Python scripts. 

To find and execute the command to start Jupyter, separate instructions for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux are provided below.

Windows startup instructions

• On Windows, a link to Jupyter can be found in Start Menu → Programs → Anaconda3 (64-bit) → Jupyter Notebook.
• Jupyter will run a terminal in the background and will open a browser tab to "localhost:8888/tree"

MacOS startup instructions

• On MacOS, Jupyter can be found using the Anaconda Navigator or at anaconda → bin → jupyter in your home folder.
• Jupyter will run a terminal in the background and will open a browser tab to "localhost:8888/tree"

Linux startup instructions

• On Linux, Jupyter can be found using the Anaconda Navigator or at anaconda → bin → jupyter in your home folder.
• Jupyter will run a terminal in the background and will open a browser tab to "localhost:8888/tree"