Lesson 16 min

Setup Python

Install Python and use a clean virtual environment.

What you will learn

✓Why virtual environments matter
✓Creating and activating a venv
✓Installing AI libraries with pip

Explanation

Python is the default language for AI because of its huge library ecosystem. First, install Python 3 from python.org.

Always work inside a virtual environment (venv) — an isolated folder of packages for each project. This stops one project's library versions from breaking another's.

Create one, activate it, then install the core data libraries. You will see (.venv) in your terminal when it is active.

Code Example

bash

1	`python -m venv .venv`
2	`source .venv/bin/activate # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate`
3	`pip install numpy pandas scikit-learn`

Real-world use

Every professional Python project uses isolated environments — it is the difference between 'works on my machine' and reproducible setups.

Common mistakes

• Installing packages globally and later hitting version conflicts between projects.

Practice

Create a venv, activate it, and install numpy. Confirm with `pip list`.

Knowledge check

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1. Why use a virtual environment?

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