Mar 3rd and 5th, 2025
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM EST
Instructors: Janine Pino, Marshall McDonnell
Helpers: David Rogers, Meghan Berry, Ian Goethert
This workshop is part of The Carpentires open curriculum. Software Carpentry, in particular, aims to help researchers get their work done in less time and with less pain by teaching them basic research computing skills. This hands-on workshop will cover basic concepts and tools, including program design, version control, data management, and task automation. Participants will be encouraged to help one another and to apply what they have learned to their own research problems.
For more information on what The Carpentries teach and why, please see our paper "Best Practices for Scientific Computing".
Who: The course is aimed a graduates students and other researchers. No previous experience with Python or programming tools is required.
Where: Bredesen Center, Bldg 5100, Rm 140, Oak Ridge, TN. Find building 5100 on March 3rd using the main campus map.
When: Mar 3rd and 5th, 2025; 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM EST Add to your Google Calendar.
Requirements: Participants must bring a laptop with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) that they have administrative privileges on. They should have a few specific software packages installed (listed below).
Accessibility: We are committed to making this workshop accessible to everybody who can attend. The workshop organizers have checked that:
We are dedicated to providing a positive and accessible learning environment for all. We do not require participants to provide documentation of disabilities or disclose any unnecessary personal information. However, we do want to help create an inclusive, accessible experience for all participants. We encourage you to share any information that would be helpful to make your Carpentries experience accessible. If you have questions or need assistance with the accommodation form please contact the organizers</a>.
Contact: Please email pinojc@ornl.gov or mcdonnellmt@ornl.gov for more information.
Roles: To learn more about the roles at the workshop (who will be doing what), refer to our Workshop FAQ.
Who can attend?: This workshop is open to all researchers affiiated with ORNL. The registration will be shared via ORNL Today. Registration is not open to attendees without a site badge.
Everyone who participates in Carpentries activities is required to conform to the Code of Conduct. This document also outlines how to report an incident if needed.
We will use this collaborative document for chatting, taking notes, and sharing URLs and bits of code.
Please be sure to complete these surveys before and after the workshop.
| Before | Pre-workshop survey |
| 10:00 AM | Setup and installation |
| 10:30 AM | Python Fundamentals |
| 11:00 AM | Analyzing Patient Data |
| 12:00 PM | LUNCH BREAK |
| 01:00 PM | Visualizing Tabular Data |
| 01:50 PM | Storing Multiple Values in Lists |
| 02:35 PM | Repeating Actions with Loops |
| 03:00 PM | Wrap up |
| 10:00 AM | Summary of Day 1 |
| 10:10 AM | Analyzing Data from Multiple Files |
| 10:30 AM | Making Choices |
| 11:00 AM | Creating Functions |
| 11:30 AM | Errors and Exceptions |
| 12:00 PM | LUNCH BREAK |
| 01:00 PM | Defensive Programming |
| 01:40 PM | Debugging |
| 02:30 PM | Command-Line Programs |
| 03:00 PM | Wrap up and Post-workshop Survey |
To participate in a Software Carpentry workshop, you will need access to software as described below. In addition, you will need an up-to-date web browser.
We maintain a list of common issues that occur during installation as a reference for instructors that may be useful on the Configuration Problems and Solutions wiki page.
Python is a popular language for research computing, and great for general-purpose programming as well. Installing all of its research packages individually can be a bit difficult, so we recommend Anaconda, an all-in-one installer.
Regardless of how you choose to install it, please make sure you install Python version 3.x (e.g., 3.6 is fine).
We will teach Python using the Jupyter Notebook, a programming environment that runs in a web browser (Jupyter Notebook will be installed by Anaconda). For this to work you will need a reasonably up-to-date browser. The current versions of the Chrome, Safari and Firefox browsers are all supported (some older browsers, including Internet Explorer version 9 and below, are not).
bash Anaconda3-and then press Tab to autocomplete the full file name. The name of file you just downloaded should appear.
yes and press enter to approve the license.
Press Enter (or Return)
to approve the default location
for the files.
Type yes and press
Enter (or Return)
to prepend Anaconda to your PATH
(this makes the Anaconda distribution the default Python).