Learn how to make the most of the programmatic tools and techniques that software developers use to write robust, reproducible Python code quickly and efficiently. We will go through a sample scientific programming project and use PyCharm (and Visual Studio) IDEs to write, test, and debug code that executes on the cloud (the Princeton clusters/Azure Cloud). Along the way we will explore some tips, tricks and workflows that we have found especially useful when writing research code that goes beyond Jupyter Notebooks.

Learning objectives: Attendees will learn how to use Python IDEs for remote development and debugging

Knowledge prerequisites: Basic understanding of Python syntax/modules is essential. Familiarity with using Anaconda to manage Python environments is desirable. An understanding of using the command line on Princeton clusters is preferred.

Hardware/software prerequisites: (1) Have an SSH client (https://bit.ly/3QER9Sv) installed on your laptop. (2) Register for an account on Adroit (https://bit.ly/3wicSaH). Make sure you can SSH to Adroit before the workshop. (3) Have the PyCharm IDE (free version) (https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/) installed on your laptop. (4) Install the Anaconda Python distribution (https://bit.ly/3c7IXez).

Session format: This will be an in-person session. Participants can follow along the workflow on their laptops in real time, but this is not required. Course material will be made available online.

Instructor bio: Vineet Bansal is a Senior Research Software Engineer who works at Research Computing/Center for Statistics and Machine Learning (CSML). He gets to work with several departments on campus and deals with polishing and optimizing (mostly Python-based) research codes on a day-to-day basis.