Useful Links

These links will help you get started with the software supported in this class. Note that you are not required to use these software platforms. However, homework assignments will be written assuming that you do.

• Python: Python is the programming language used in this course. We chose Python because it has great support for data processing, as well as being great fro website design. If you are new to Python (and programming), you may find the online Python tutor helpful (it also points you at online courses that can help). An excellent starting textbook aimed at non-programmers is Introduction to Computing and Programming in Python
• SciPi: We will use SciPy for data processing.
• Google Apps: Google apps provides a quick and painless way to deploy your python code to the web. It is the best solution for people with limited programming and unix administration experience, and the main approach supported in the class.
• AWS: Another alternative is Amazon Web Services. We provide limited support for this as of now, but we recommend that if you do take this approach, you use the following tools to help simplify your experience, and follow our tutorial.
  • BitNami: BitNami is the web hosting service we recommend for this class. It was chosen because it will allow you to host an application for free.
  • Django: Django is a web framework for python. There are many web frameworks for Python, but we point you at Django because it requires little coding and is designed to get you up and running quickly. There are also good tutorials on how to use ajax with django and it is possible to host applications built in Django for free in the cloud using BitNami.