Getting Started¶

This section describes how to set up your environment for this course.

Accounts¶

To get the most out of this course, you should have a GitHub and Mural account. Both services are free to use.

Tip

You can use your HTWG email address to register for GitHub and Mural. This will make it easier to identify you as a member of this course. Also you may benefit from several student discounts.

Install Python¶

The recommended Python version for this course is 3.10. in a virtual environment.

Linux Mac Windows

sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3.10
sudo apt install python3.10-venv

In case this doesn't work, try to add the deadsnakes PPA to your system, and try again.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa

On Mac, you can use Homebrew to install Python.

brew install python@3.10

On Windows, it is recommended to use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Then you can follow the instructions for Linux.

If you are a VS Code user, you need to install the WSL extension.

There is currently no setup guide for native Windows, but I'm happy to accept a pull request for this issue. 😉

Warning

You are free to use another Python version if you wish, but be aware that this may cause problems with the provided code. Also if you are using Python outside a virtual environment or with a distribution like Anaconda, the described setup may not work.

Clone the repository¶

Make sure you have Git installed on your system.

git clone https://github.com/pkeilbach/htwg-practical-nlp.git

Execute the Setup Script¶

The setup script is provided as a Makefile. Change into the repository directory and execute the setup script. This should create a virtual environment and install all required dependencies.

cd htwg-practical-nlp
make

This may take a few minutes. ☕

If everything went well, you should be good to go.

Test your Installation¶

You can test your installation by running the tests for the first assignment.

make assignment_1

In your terminal, you should see 56 failed tests. 😨

But this is exactly what we want to see, since we haven't implemented anything yet! 🤓

Start the Jupyter Server¶

Some of the assignments are accompanied by Jupyter notebooks. You can start the Jupyter server with the following command.

make jupyter

Jupyter is now accessible at http://localhost:8888/.

Info

Of course you can also use JupyterLab if you wish, but this is not included in the setup script.

Serve the Lecture Notes¶

If you want, you can bring up the lecture notes on your local machine.

make lecture_notes

The lecture notes are now accessible at http://localhost:8000/.

If you came this far, your initial setup was successful and you are ready to go! 🚀