1. Introduction

This is the documentation for a Python package designed to make scientific data analysis easier. The main objective is to create a collection of interconnected methods frequently needed to visualize and analyze data using Numpy, Scipy, Matplotlib, and PyQt.

1.1. Prerequisites

1.1.1. Python 3

scisalt works with Python 3 and up, which should be installed via apt-get on *nix, Macports on Apple machines, or downloaded from https://www.python.org/downloads/.

1.1.2. HDF5 and h5py

While technically scisalt only depends on h5py, h5py depends on HDF5. h5py can be installed via pip:

pip install h5py

However, HDF5 may need to be installed at the system level via apt-get or Macports.

It is possible to download or compile HDF5 and h5py from source:

* https://www.hdfgroup.org/HDF5/release/obtain5.html
* https://pypi.python.org/pypi/h5py

1.1.3. NumPy and SciPy

scisalt depends on NumPy and SciPy to manipulate data.

NumPy has dependencies such as BLAS, LAPACK, and ATLAS, which makes downloading building form source is difficult. Installation via apt-get or Macports is highly recommended in order to handle these dependencies. It is possible to download or to build from source.

SciPy is similar to NumPy, and it is usually easiest to install the two at the same time - they have nearly identical install methods, to the point that at times it is difficult to tell the two apart. It is easiest to follow the install instructions.

1.1.4. PyQt4

scisalt requires PyQt4, which has dependencies of its own. Installation via apt-get or Macports is highly recommended in order to handle these dependencies.

It is possible, although difficult, to install from source, including dependencies. If you would like to run on a *nix machine without access to apt-get, you may have to compile from source. It is possible to build against Qt 5.

1.2. Installation

There are a few ways to install scisalt. If you are unsure or want something more reliable (and also updated less frequently), install from PyPI.

1.2.1. From PyPI

You can install the most recent SciSalt version using pip:

sudo pip install scisalt

This will install scisalt in your Python installation’s site-packages directory.

The PyPI site is found at https://pypi.python.org/pypi/scisalt.

1.2.2. From the tarball release

  1. Download the most recent tarball from the download page
  2. Unpack the tarball
  3. sudo python setup.py install

Note that you have to have setuptools installed.

This will install scisalt into your Python installation’s site-packages directory.

1.2.3. Installing the development version

  1. Install git (available through Linux’s apt-get and Macports as well)
  2. git clone git@github.com:joelfrederico/SciSalt.git
  3. cd SciSalt
  4. python setup.py develop

Note that you have to have setuptools installed.