This page lists and describes Python packages needed to do the exercises and examples in the First Edition (2012) of the book A Hands-On Introduction to Using Python in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, by Johnny Wei-Bing Lin. The main purpose of this page is to provide, in one location, links to all the packages you'll needed.
A full description of the software you'll need is given in p. vii of the book. This includes Python 2.7 (preferably) and the following Python packages:
- Basemap: Plotting on a map projection and overlaying continential boundaries.
- matplotlib: Visualization.
- NumPy: Array handling.
- ScientificPython: NetCDF file handling.
How you go about installing Python and these packages is up to you. Most users, however, will find the options given in Section 2.1 of the book to be the easiest. Please note, however, that if you use the Enthought Python Distribution (EPD), you cannot run the code samples in the book that access netCDF files without implementing a small fix (that utilizes the netCDF4 package for netCDF file handling). Please see the entry for the book's p. 8 on the Addenda and Errata page for details on working around the issue.
