

Joe Kasprzyk – Associate Professor, CU Boulder Once this is installed, you can open Spyder immediately. It is an incredibly efficient way to get everything you need in just one download and works for both Windows and Mac. There are three options, but I chose to install Anaconda which gives you the core Python language, over 100 main Python libraries, and Spyder. The easiest way to install Spyder is through a Python Scientific Distribution found here. In this blog post, I will give an overview of the Spyder environment and step through some of its functionalities. I have tried out many different IDEs, and, for the purpose of making a smooth, intuitive, transition from R to Python, the best one for me was Spyder ( Scientific Python Development Envi ronment). Choosing an IDE is a deeply personal choice and the one you choose depends on your skill level and programming needs. While the syntax of the languages is similar, I was quickly overwhelmed with the choices of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and text editors for Python. I am currently in the midst of transitioning from R, my preferred programming language, over to Python.
