Tag Archives: mercurial

Setting up a Python working envrionment on Windows

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The following is a quick walkthrough on how to setup a Python working environment on a Windows machine.

This working environment is especially useful if you are a scientist, or working on a 64-bit Windows, because the python distribution mentioned below contains many important packages for scientists and for everyone precompiled for 64-bit python. Also, in this walktrhough you will setup and config IPython, which is great. And of course I already RTFMed (almost) everything for you.

  1. Install the Enthought Python Distribution (EPD), which is a Python 2.7 bundled with many python scientific packages such as Numpy, Scipy, IPython, etc. Academics get a free license.
  2. Setup IPython:
    1. Add these arguments to the shortcut running the IPython QT console: 
      --pylab=inline --editor="c:\python27\lib\idlelib\idle.pyw -e"
    2. Add imports you like to C:\Users\<USERNAME>\.ipython\profile_default\startup
  3. Change the IDLE configuration file C:\Users\<USERNAME>\.idlerc\config-main.cfg  
    [Keys]
default = 0
name = up-down

[General]
autosave = 1
editor-on-startup = 1
  4. If you don’t want a to install a revision control system, you’re done. If you do, go on.
  5. Install Mercurial by downloading and installing ToirtoiseHg.
  6. Setup TortoiseHg – in C:\Users\<USERNAME>\mercurial.ini:

# Generated by TortoiseHg settings dialog
 [ui]
 username = Full Name

[web]
 push_ssl = True

[extensions]
 fetch =
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