How it works...

For many readers, choosing between a prepackaged Python distribution and running a virtual machine might be easy based on their experience. If you are wrestling with this decision, keep reading. If you come from a windows-only background and/or don't have much experience with a *nix command line, the virtual machine-based route will be challenging and will force you to expand your skill set greatly. This takes effort and a significant amount of tenacity, both useful for data science in general (trust us on this one). If you have the time and/or knowledge, running everything in a virtual machine will move you further down the path to becoming a data scientist and, most likely, make your code easier to deploy in production environments. If not, you can choose the backup plan and use the Anaconda distribution, as many people choose to do.

For the remainder of this book, we will always include Linux/Mac OS X-oriented Python package install instructions first and supplementary Anaconda install instructions second. Thus, for Windows users we will assume you have either gone the route of the Linux virtual machine or used the Anaconda distribution. If you choose to go down another path, we applaud your sense of adventure and wish you the best of luck! Let Google be with you.