Using iPython Notebooks

iPython notebooks are a form of literate programming. An iPython notebook is a document that can be viewed and edited in a Web browser, and that combines Python code, pictures, text and plots.

If you installed Python using the Anaconda distribution, iPython is already included. To start the notebook environment, run from the Anaconda/scripts folder the following command:

ipython notebook
This will start the iPython Notebook server on your machine, and launch the default Web browser on your machine on the iPython viewer page - which is by default http://localhost:8888/tree.

You can then use the "New Notebook" command on this page, which will create a new notebook. You should then rename the notebook to a descriptive name - such as "NLP-HW1". You will now be in an interactive shell session, and can type Python commands, and get results.

Experiment with the notebook - until you get a good, well documented session answering the questions in the assignment, with appropriate figures and plots and sufficient explanations of your code and the execution of the code.

Do not forget to save your notebook (use the Save command). You should gather all files and plots that accompany your notebook and prepare a zip file with all supporting material before submission.