IPython in Python

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IPython is a third-party interactive interpreter which has an array of features lacking in the original interactive interpreter of Python. It provides a browser-based notebook with support for rich media, code introspection, history, re-usability of sessions, inline plots, tab completion, re-executable statements, scrollable output among other things. It supports interactive data visualization and non-blocking use of GUI toolkits. These interpreter notebooks can be easily embedded into other projects.

For full list of features, visit IPython on The Cheese Shop. For its documentation, visit Jupyter Documentation. Project Jupyter is a spin-off project from IPython, announced in 2014. Jupyter supports languages Julia, R, Haskell & Ruby, in addition to Python. IPython continues to be a Python shell and a kernel for Jupyter.

To install IPython, you can use pip, Python's package manager. In the command prompt/Terminal, enter

$ pip install ipython

This should install IPython on your computer. If it doesn't, I suggest you look at this post for problem resolution.

If pip is not working, it might be due to the fact that it is not in your path environment variable. One workaround for this issue is to run pip as a script by using the -m flag of python command line.

$ python -m pip install ipython

To launch an IPython notebook, go to command prompt/Terminal, navigate to the directory where you would like to store your notebook, and then execute the following command to launch the Jupyter Notebook App in a browser tab:

$ jupyter notebook

For more options, refer to Jupyter Running the Notebook.

For usage examples, the IPython team has created this iPython notebook. Check it out.

In the command prompt where you executed the startup command, press Ctrl + C to exit the notebook.

Here's a handy link to Shortcuts and helpful tips for working in IPython and Jupyter. And another one.

IPython: An enhanced interpreter

See also:

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