# CS 410 Python Installation & Setup

## Overview
The course uses Python as our language. As software library installation and management can often be tricky, Python supports virtual environments which collect and isolate a set of packages and their versions. CSCI 410 has its own virtual environment to reduce configuration issues. Assignment 0 tasks you with setting up this environment locally.

## Software and Tools
- **Python Version**: Python 3.10.6. As our autograder exclusively runs 3.10.6, we will not provide support for other versions of Python.
- **Editor**: Visual Studio Code (VSCode), a free cross-platform editor with debugging support.

## Virtual Environment Setup on a Personal Machine

### Preparation
1. Download [VSCode](https://code.visualstudio.com/) if you haven't already.
2. Download the correct version of Python (3.10.6) [here](https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-3106/). Do this even if you have another version of Python installed on your machine.

:::warning
**IMPORTANT:** For Windows users, when you first click on the .exe installer, you should make sure the `Add python.exe to PATH` box is checked BEFORE you click "Install Now".
:::

### Creating the Virtual Environment
1. Create a directory for the course: `cd ~/Desktop && mkdir cs410`
2. Download the requirements.txt file below:
- [requirements.txt file](https://drive.google.com/file/d/14krDZ2qKeIwkhvJUjCEOek3OFPpcDbbw/view?usp=sharing)

<!-- - [m1/m2 Mac](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DW7crninjQ32IG3stocJTyOwsT5B5r-J/view?usp=sharing)
- [Intel Mac](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gUxM1ukQit2tsB_5XoUzxJRW9hL9nZv5/view?usp=sharing)
- [Windows](https://drive.google.com/file/d/13bAz4lPucYXKTECZygeA7n_lbEHmh8Se/view?usp=sharing) -->
3. Put the `requirements.txt` you just downloaded in your new CS410 directory.

Store project files in relation to the virtual environment like so:

>cs410/
>>|--- cs410env/
>>|--- assignment-1
>>|--- assignment-2
>>|--- ...
>>|--- requirements.txt

4. In a VSCode terminal, navigate to the new directory: `cd ~/Desktop/cs410`

::: spoiler Can't find the VSCode terminal?
Go to the menu bar -> select `Terminal` -> select `New Terminal`.
:::

5. Create a virtual environment:
* Run `python3.10 -m venv cs410_env` (Mac users)
* If the above doesn't work, try `py -3.10 -m venv cs410_env` (Windows users)

::: warning
**Note:** Make sure you are in the cs410 directory when running the above commands
:::

6. Activate your new environment:
- For all Mac users: `source cs410_env/bin/activate`
- For Windows users: `cs410_env\Scripts\activate`
- For Linux users: `source cs410_env/bin/activate.csh`

::: spoiler Error: running scripts disabled on system
If you are running into execution policy restrictions (typically on Windows), follow this [Stack Overflow post](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/67150436/cannot-be-loaded-because-running-scripts-is-disabled-on-this-system-for-more-in) to resolve the issue.
:::

Your terminal should look like this when it is activated correctly:

7. Once you have activated your environment, check that the Python version inside the environment is correct:
- run `python -v` - towards the end of the terminal output you should see "Python 3.10"
- type `exit()` to return to the normal command line
8. Once the environment is activated, run `pip install -r requirements.txt`

### Before Every Assignment:
#### Activate the Environment
- For all Mac users: `source cs410_env/bin/activate`
- For Windows users: `cs410_env\Scripts\activate`
::: spoiler If you encounter issues on Windows
- If you encounter `ERROR: Could not find C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\vswhere.exe`, download [Microsoft Build Tools for Visual Studio](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/ ). During installation, make sure to select the "Desktop Development with C++" workload
- If you encounter `ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'distutils.msvccompiler'`, ensure you have Python version 3.10.6 installed

:::
- For Linux users: `source cs410_env/bin/activate.csh`

#### Deactiving the Environment
To deactivate the environment, use the following terminal commands:
- For Mac M1/M2 users: `conda deactivate`
- For all other Mac users `deactivate`
- For Windows users: `deactivate`

### Enabling Pylint
Through the shell script in the previous step, we've already installed PEP8 library, the industry standard Python style guide, for you. Next, you should activate Pylint, a linting tool that automatically checks for semantic and stylistic issues. Linting makes it easier to spot subtle errors and effortlessly follow the [CS410 Style Guide!](https://hackmd.io/45NLg5CbSj6So9GhM_p3Iw?view)

Enable Pylint by following these steps:
1. In VSCode, click on the Extensions icon on the left sidebar (it looks like four squares) or press `Ctrl+Shift+X` to open the Extensions tab.
2. Search for Pylint and install it.
3. Double check that the extension is enabled.

The extension should now look like this:

Once installed, Pylint will highlight errors in your VSCode file with squiggly lines, indicating PEP8 violations. Hover over an underlined issue to see the details.

To get a comprehensive list of all errors and warnings for a specific file, run the command `pylint fileName.py` in your terminal. This will print the style errors in your terminal. For more information on using Pylint, visit [this guide](https://archive.mantidproject.org/How_to_run_Pylint.html).

::: danger
**Remember:** While Pylint allows you to disable seeing violations, **DO NOT DO DISABLE WARNINGS** for your CS410 work, or you will risk point deductions.
:::