CoreyMS

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An in-depth look at Python’s package management system, pip

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In this video, we will take an in-depth look at Python’s package management system, pip. We’ll walk through how to install, uninstall, list, and upgrade packages. We will also dive into how we can output our dependencies and install a list of dependencies.

An in-depth knowledge of pip can be a great addition to your Python tool-belt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2ZN104hIcc

Here is a look at some of the code used in this tutorial:

Install a package

pip install <package_name>

Uninstall a package

pip uninstall <package_name>

Output installed packages to a requirements file.

pip freeze > requirements.txt

Install all packages from a requirements file

pip install -r <name_of_requirements_file>

List installed packages

pip list

List installed packages that need updated

pip list --outdated

Upgrade a package

pip install -U <package_name>

Upgrade all packages (source)

pip freeze --local | grep -v '^\-e' | cut -d = -f 1  | xargs -n1 pip install -U

Python: virtualenv and why you should use virtual environments

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In this video, we will be looking at virtualenv and why you should be using virtual environments in Python. Virtual Environments in Python allow us to keep project-specific dependencies in a separate place than our global site-packages. This is extremely useful when you have different versions of packages for different projects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5vscPTWKOk

Here’s a brief walkthrough of some of the code from the video:

Install virtualenv

pip install virtualenv

Create a location for your environments (Optional)

mkdir ~/Environments
cd ~/Environments

Create a new virtual environment (called venv for this example)

virtualenv venv

Activate your new virtual environment

source venv/bin/activate

At this point you can work from inside of your new virtual environment and know that you are keeping your project-specific packages and dependencies separate.

When you are finished, you can deactivate your virtual environment

deactivate

If you no longer need your environment and would like to delete it, you can just remove the directory

rm -rf venv