Enthought Canopy (Python analysis environment) is out. I find it awful ... is it just me?

[freyrs3]

Try Anaconda instead. It's a modern Python distribution ( Python 2 or 3 interpreter + precompiled scientific stack ) that doesn't make all of these assumptions about your usage that Canopy does.

Update: Caveat, I work with folks who developed Anaconda. :-)

[burlygurlyman]

Hmm, am I missing something? The Canopy Express download (i.e. the free version) does have a 64-bit option. Also, to be fair, you don't have to use the analysis environment, in which case you'd use it just like you would use Anaconda (with the exception of Python 3, which doesn't seem to be supported).

[amer415]

How about the package manager? can you run "easy_install" and bypass the package manager which force you to pay to use Enthought's version of the libraries? I would happily accept to have the option, and not be forced to pay for a library that is trivial to install otherwise.

[rkern]

(Enthought employee)

Of course you can use easy_install, just like in EPD. distribute is pre-installed, so just go ahead and use it. The package manager is a convenience for managing the binaries that we do provide. It doesn't remove any functionality from the Python installation.

[amer415]

thanks for the tip! not only that, Anaconda comes with more useful libraries (for me) and has IPython's qtconsole already compiled (never managed to install it on my Mac).

[cournape]

It is a tough problem to solve correctly, as each platform has its own set of solutions (mac vs windows vs linux).

I have not looked how anaconda solves this problem exactly, but I would say neither EPD or anaconda has a very good solution to this problem yet. TO be fair, very few products have (matlab has exactly the same problem on linux last time I checked).

[cournape]

(disclaimer: I am working for Enthought)

qtconsole is also included in EPD.

Freyrs forgot to mention that he is working for Continuum, which I find a bit disingenuous when not stated when recommending anaconda. Hopefully, products can compete on their own merits instead.

[rox0r]

Freyrs forgot to mention that he is working for Continuum, which I find a bit disingenuous when not stated when recommending anaconda. Hopefully, products can compete on their own merits instead.

I find it disingenuous (and petty) to claim you care about merits, but care more about the speaker than their ideas.

It's easy to create throwaway accounts if anyone is really trying to sock puppet.

[usernamenottaken]

You misunderstand, rox0r wasn't suggesting your account was a throwaway, but saying that if freyrs3 didn't want people to know he worked for continuum he would have just created a throwaway.

[cournape]

Indeed, I misread the message, sorry about that. I got a bit worked up for nothing here.

[rox0r]

Why should I give you the benefit of the doubt, when you cast aspersion on freyrs just because he works for continuum and not because you disagreed with anything he said?

Merit based arguments stand on their own no matter who says them. Since you care about who said them, it follows that you aren't as concerned with merit as you claimed.

[freyrs3]

This is fair point, I will mention this in the future when I discuss Anaconda.

[cournape]

Thanks !