[SOLVED] python virtual environment for Enthought Training

[TomRoche]

I'm running 64-bit LMDE UP8 with GNOME, which includes a system python and various python-using applets and applications. I have a long-standing interest in scientific software, but only recently acquired some spare time and an Enthought Training license. So I'd like to get setup to work their exercises, which apparently means installing Canopy (formerly EPD), possibly et al.

I therefore want to install Canopy (and whatever else I need to do the Enthought training that is not independently available via debian packages) into a python virtual environment (not to be confused with a full VM like KVM, VirtualBox, or VMware) so as not to cause problems with dependencies of my system python. How to do this? conda? venv? virtualenv? Unfortunately I'm not seeing any howto's on Enthought's site, which is why I'm asking here.

[MrBob22]

I just installed Enthought packages on my Mint 17 system. Have not used any of this yet, but maybe this could be a starting point for your foray... Good Luck, MrBob22

[TomRoche]

I therefore want to install Canopy (and whatever else I need to do the Enthought training that is not independently available via debian packages) into a python virtual environment (not to be confused with a full VM like KVM, VirtualBox, or VMware) so as not to cause problems with dependencies of my system python.

Turns out that was unnecessary: see here.

One other note for current LMDE-ers: the one non-standard thing I needed to install was package=`libpng16-16` , currently in repo=experimental. Canopy installed OK without it, but when I got into IPython and tried to call `%pylab` (which is what imports the NumPy/SciPy goodness) I got a long fail ending

Code: Select all

> /home/tlroche/bin/Canopy_64bit/User/lib/python2.7/site-packages/matplotlib/font_manager.py in <module>()
>      51 import matplotlib
>      52 from matplotlib import afm
> ---> 53 from matplotlib import ft2font
>      54 from matplotlib import rcParams, get_cachedir
>      55 from matplotlib.cbook import is_string_like

> ImportError: libpng16.so.16: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory 

Fix was to stop Canopy, install package=`libpng16-16`, and restart Canopy.