IPython: Productive Interactive Computing

IPython provides a rich toolkit to help you make the most out of using Python interactively. Its main components are:

• Powerful Python shells (terminal- and Qt-based).
• A web-based notebook with the same core features but support for rich media, text, code, mathematical expressions and inline plots.
• Support for interactive data visualization and use of GUI toolkits.
• Flexible, embeddable interpreters to load into your own projects.
• Tools for high level and interactive parallel computing.

IPython is open source (released under the revised BSD license), and is used by a range of other projects. The talks and presentations we have given about IPython provide a good overview of its capabilities, and our documentation page also contains a list of videos and screencasts.

IPython supports Python 2.6 to 2.7 and 3.1 to 3.2. Our older 0.10 series supports Python 2.5, and probably works well with 2.4.

Announcements

• IPython tutorial at PyCon 2012: Fernando Perez, Brian Granger and Min Ragan-Kelley will present an in-depth tutorial about IPython. Join us for a tour of IPython’s architecture and hands-on examples on customization, embedding, effective uses of the various applications, the architecture of the web notebook and how to use IPython for parallel and distributed computing.
• IPython 0.12: We’re pleased to announce the release of IPython 0.12, a major new version. The highlight of this release is the IPython Notebook, an interactive Python interface running in the browser. Download it now, or read more about what’s new.

• Try IPython online: If you want to check out IPython before installing it, you can now test drive it in a web browser. Thanks to PythonAnywhere for providing this.

More news...

Citing IPython

Several of the authors of IPython are connected with academic and scientific research, so it is important to us to be able to show the impact of our work in other projects and fields.

If IPython contributes to a project that leads to a scientific publication, please acknowledge this fact by citing the project. You can use this ready-made citation entry.

Support

We gratefully acknowledge the support we’ve received over the years:

• Enthought Inc has supported IPython since its beginning in multiple forms, including –but not limited to– the funding of our Qt console, hosting our website for many years, the continued hosting of our mailing lists, and the inclusion of IPython in the Enthought Python Distribution.
• NiPy/NIH: funding via the NiPy project (NIH grant 5R01MH081909-02) supported our 2009 refactoring work.
• Sage/NSF: funding via the grant Sage: Unifying Mathematical Software for Scientists, Engineers, and Mathematicians (NSF grant DMS-1015114) supported our Seattle 2011 developer meeting.
• Microsoft’s team working on Python Tools for Visual Studio developed the integraton of IPython into the Python plugin for Visual Studio 2010.
• Tech-X Corporation supported in 2008 the development of our parallel computing tools.
• Google Summer of Code: in 2005 and 2010 we’ve had GSoC support for prototypes in several areas of the project.
• The Ohio Supercomputer Center and the Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP), for sponsoring work in 2009 on our parallel computing tools.
• Bivio Software hosted an IPython sprint in 2006, in addition to their support of the Front Range Pythoneers group in Boulder, CO.
• GitHub hosts our development workflow and documentation.
• ShiningPanda gives us a free continuous integration service.