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1 ==================================
2 Using IPython for interactive work
3 ==================================
1 ========
2 Tutorial
3 ========
4 4
5 5 This section of IPython documentation will walk you through most of the IPython
6 6 functionality. You do not need to have any deep knowledge of Python to read this
7 7 tutorial, though some sections might make slightly more sense if you have already
8 done some work in the REPL.
8 done some work in the classic Python REPL.
9 9
10 10 .. note::
11 11
12 12 Some part of this documentation are more than a decade old so might be out
13 13 of date, we welcome any report of inaccuracy, and Pull Requests that make
14 14 that up to date.
15 15
16 16 .. toctree::
17 17 :maxdepth: 2
18 18 :hidden:
19 19
20 20 tutorial
21 21 plotting
22 22 reference
23 23 shell
24 24 tips
25 25 python-ipython-diff
26 26 magics
27 27
28 28 .. seealso::
29 29
30 30 `A Qt Console for Jupyter <http://jupyter.org/qtconsole/>`__
31 31 `The Jupyter Notebook <http://jupyter-notebook.readthedocs.io/en/latest/>`__
@@ -1,216 +1,260 b''
1 1 .. _tutorial:
2 2
3 3 ======================
4 4 Introducing IPython
5 5 ======================
6 6
7 7 You don't need to know anything beyond Python to start using IPython – just type
8 8 commands as you would at the standard Python prompt. But IPython can do much
9 9 more than the standard prompt. Some key features are described here. For more
10 10 information, check the :ref:`tips page <tips>`, or look at examples in the
11 11 `IPython cookbook <https://github.com/ipython/ipython/wiki/Cookbook%3A-Index>`_.
12 12
13 If you haven't done that yet see `how to install ipython <install>`_ .
14
13 15 If you've never used Python before, you might want to look at `the official
14 16 tutorial <http://docs.python.org/tutorial/>`_ or an alternative, `Dive into
15 17 Python <http://diveintopython.net/toc/index.html>`_.
16 18
17 The four most helpful commands
18 ===============================
19 Start IPython by issuing the ``ipython`` command from your shell, you should be
20 greeted by the following::
21
22 Python 3.6.0
23 Type 'copyright', 'credits' or 'license' for more information
24 IPython 6.0.0.dev -- An enhanced Interactive Python. Type '?' for help.
25
26 In [1]:
27
28
29 Unlike the Python REPL, you will see that the input prompt is ``In [N]:``
30 instead of ``>>>``. The number ``N`` in the prompt will be used later in this
31 tutorial but should usually not impact the computation.
32
33 You should be able to type single line expressions and press enter to evaluate
34 them. If an expression is incomplete, IPython will automatically detect this and
35 add a new line when you press ``Enter`` instead of evaluating.
36
37 Feel free to explore multi-line text edition. Unlike many other REPL with
38 IPython you can use the up and down arrow keys when editing multi-line
39 code blocks.
40
41 Here is an example of a longer interaction with the IPython REPL we often refer
42 to as an IPython _session_ ::
43
44 In [1]: print('Hello IPython')
45 Hello IPython
46
47 In [2]: 21 * 2
48 Out[2]: 42
49
50 In [3]: def say_hello(name):
51 ...: print('Hello {name}'.format(name=name))
52 ...:
53
54 We won't get into details right now, but unlike the standard python REPL you
55 will notice a few difference. First your code should be syntax-highlighted as
56 you type.
57
58 Second, you will see that some results will have an ``Out[N]:`` prompt, while
59 some other do not. We'll come to this later.
60
61 The four most helpful commands
62 ==============================
19 63
20 64 The four most helpful commands, as well as their brief description, is shown
21 65 to you in a banner, every time you start IPython:
22 66
23 67 ========== =========================================================
24 68 command description
25 69 ========== =========================================================
26 70 ? Introduction and overview of IPython's features.
27 71 %quickref Quick reference.
28 72 help Python's own help system.
29 73 object? Details about 'object', use 'object??' for extra details.
30 74 ========== =========================================================
31 75
32 76 Tab completion
33 77 ==============
34 78
35 79 Tab completion, especially for attributes, is a convenient way to explore the
36 80 structure of any object you're dealing with. Simply type ``object_name.<TAB>``
37 81 to view the object's attributes. Besides Python objects and keywords, tab
38 82 completion also works on file and directory names.
39 83
40 84 Exploring your objects
41 85 ======================
42 86
43 87 Typing ``object_name?`` will print all sorts of details about any object,
44 88 including docstrings, function definition lines (for call arguments) and
45 89 constructor details for classes. To get specific information on an object, you
46 90 can use the magic commands ``%pdoc``, ``%pdef``, ``%psource`` and ``%pfile``
47 91
48 92 .. _magics_explained:
49 93
50 94 Magic functions
51 95 ===============
52 96
53 97 IPython has a set of predefined 'magic functions' that you can call with a
54 98 command line style syntax. There are two kinds of magics, line-oriented and
55 99 cell-oriented. **Line magics** are prefixed with the ``%`` character and work
56 100 much like OS command-line calls: they get as an argument the rest of the line,
57 101 where arguments are passed without parentheses or quotes. **Lines magics** can
58 102 return results and can be used in the right hand side of an assignment. **Cell
59 103 magics** are prefixed with a double ``%%``, and they are functions that get as
60 104 an argument not only the rest of the line, but also the lines below it in a
61 105 separate argument.
62 106
63 107 Magics are useful as convenient functions where Python syntax is not the most
64 108 natural one, or when one want to embed invalid python syntax in their work flow.
65 109
66 110 The following examples show how to call the builtin :magic:`timeit` magic, both
67 111 in line and cell mode::
68 112
69 113 In [1]: %timeit range(1000)
70 114 100000 loops, best of 3: 7.76 us per loop
71 115
72 116 In [2]: %%timeit x = range(10000)
73 ...: max(x)
74 ...:
117 ...: max(x)
118 ...:
75 119 1000 loops, best of 3: 223 us per loop
76 120
77 121 The builtin magics include:
78 122
79 123 - Functions that work with code: :magic:`run`, :magic:`edit`, :magic:`save`,
80 124 :magic:`macro`, :magic:`recall`, etc.
81 125
82 126 - Functions which affect the shell: :magic:`colors`, :magic:`xmode`,
83 127 :magic:`autoindent`, :magic:`automagic`, etc.
84 128
85 129 - Other functions such as :magic:`reset`, :magic:`timeit`,
86 130 :cellmagic:`writefile`, :magic:`load`, or :magic:`paste`.
87 131
88 132 You can always call magics using the ``%`` prefix, and if you're calling a line
89 133 magic on a line by itself, as long as the identifier is not defined in your
90 134 namespace, you can omit even that::
91 135
92 136 run thescript.py
93 137
94 138 You can toggle this behavior by running the :magic:`automagic` magic. Cell
95 139 magics must always have the ``%%`` prefix.
96 140
97 141 A more detailed explanation of the magic system can be obtained by calling
98 142 ``%magic``, and for more details on any magic function, call ``%somemagic?`` to
99 143 read its docstring. To see all the available magic functions, call
100 144 ``%lsmagic``.
101 145
102 146 .. seealso::
103 147
104 148 The :ref:`magic` section of the documentation goes more in depth into how
105 149 the magics works and how to define your own, and :doc:`magics` for a list of
106 150 built-in magics.
107 151
108 152 `Cell magics`_ example notebook
109 153
110 154 Running and Editing
111 155 -------------------
112 156
113 157 The :magic:`run` magic command allows you to run any python script and load all
114 158 of its data directly into the interactive namespace. Since the file is re-read
115 159 from disk each time, changes you make to it are reflected immediately (unlike
116 160 imported modules, which have to be specifically reloaded). IPython also includes
117 161 :ref:`dreload <dreload>`, a recursive reload function.
118 162
119 163 ``%run`` has special flags for timing the execution of your scripts (-t), or
120 164 for running them under the control of either Python's pdb debugger (-d) or
121 165 profiler (-p).
122 166
123 167 The :magic:`edit` command gives a reasonable approximation of multiline editing,
124 168 by invoking your favorite editor on the spot. IPython will execute the
125 169 code you type in there as if it were typed interactively. Note that for
126 170 :magic:`edit` to work, the call to startup your editor has to be a blocking
127 171 call. In a GUI environment, your editor likely will have such an option.
128 172
129 173 Debugging
130 174 ---------
131 175
132 176 After an exception occurs, you can call :magic:`debug` to jump into the Python
133 177 debugger (pdb) and examine the problem. Alternatively, if you call :magic:`pdb`,
134 178 IPython will automatically start the debugger on any uncaught exception. You can
135 179 print variables, see code, execute statements and even walk up and down the call
136 180 stack to track down the true source of the problem. This can be an efficient way
137 181 to develop and debug code, in many cases eliminating the need for print
138 182 statements or external debugging tools.
139 183
140 184 You can also step through a program from the beginning by calling
141 185 ``%run -d theprogram.py``.
142 186
143 187 History
144 188 =======
145 189
146 190 IPython stores both the commands you enter, and the results it produces. You
147 191 can easily go through previous commands with the up- and down-arrow keys, or
148 192 access your history in more sophisticated ways.
149 193
150 194 Input and output history are kept in variables called ``In`` and ``Out``, keyed
151 195 by the prompt numbers, e.g. ``In[4]``. The last three objects in output history
152 196 are also kept in variables named ``_``, ``__`` and ``___``.
153 197
154 198 You can use the ``%history`` magic function to examine past input and output.
155 199 Input history from previous sessions is saved in a database, and IPython can be
156 200 configured to save output history.
157 201
158 202 Several other magic functions can use your input history, including ``%edit``,
159 203 ``%rerun``, ``%recall``, ``%macro``, ``%save`` and ``%pastebin``. You can use a
160 204 standard format to refer to lines::
161 205
162 206 %pastebin 3 18-20 ~1/1-5
163 207
164 208 This will take line 3 and lines 18 to 20 from the current session, and lines
165 209 1-5 from the previous session.
166 210
167 211 System shell commands
168 212 =====================
169 213
170 214 To run any command at the system shell, simply prefix it with ``!``, e.g.::
171 215
172 216 !ping www.bbc.co.uk
173 217
174 218 You can capture the output into a Python list, e.g.: ``files = !ls``. To pass
175 219 the values of Python variables or expressions to system commands, prefix them
176 220 with $: ``!grep -rF $pattern ipython/*``. See :ref:`our shell section
177 221 <system_shell_access>` for more details.
178 222
179 223 Define your own system aliases
180 224 ------------------------------
181 225
182 226 It's convenient to have aliases to the system commands you use most often. This
183 227 allows you to work seamlessly from inside IPython with the same commands you are
184 228 used to in your system shell. IPython comes with some pre-defined aliases and a
185 229 complete system for changing directories, both via a stack (see :magic:`pushd`,
186 230 :magic:`popd` and :magic:`dhist`) and via direct :magic:`cd`. The latter keeps a
187 231 history of visited directories and allows you to go to any previously visited
188 232 one.
189 233
190 234
191 235 Configuration
192 236 =============
193 237
194 238 Much of IPython can be tweaked through :doc:`configuration </config/intro>`.
195 239 To get started, use the command ``ipython profile create`` to produce the
196 240 default config files. These will be placed in
197 241 :file:`~/.ipython/profile_default`, and contain comments explaining
198 242 what the various options do.
199 243
200 244 Profiles allow you to use IPython for different tasks, keeping separate config
201 245 files and history for each one. More details in :ref:`the profiles section
202 246 <profiles>`.
203 247
204 248 .. _startup_files:
205 249
206 250 Startup Files
207 251 -------------
208 252
209 253 If you want some code to be run at the beginning of every IPython session, the
210 254 easiest way is to add Python (.py) or IPython (.ipy) scripts to your
211 255 :file:`profile_default/startup/` directory. Files here will be executed as soon
212 256 as the IPython shell is constructed, before any other code or scripts you have
213 257 specified. The files will be run in order of their names, so you can control the
214 258 ordering with prefixes, like ``10-myimports.py``.
215 259
216 260 .. include:: ../links.txt
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