.. _tutorial:

======================
Introducing IPython
======================

You don't need to know anything beyond Python to start using IPython – just type
commands as you would at the standard Python prompt. But IPython can do much
more than the standard prompt. Some key features are described here. For more
information, check the :ref:`tips page <tips>`, or look at examples in the
`IPython cookbook <https://github.com/ipython/ipython/wiki/Cookbook%3A-Index>`_.

If you've never used Python before, you might want to look at `the official
tutorial <http://docs.python.org/tutorial/>`_ or an alternative, `Dive into
Python <http://diveintopython.net/toc/index.html>`_.

The four most helpful commands 
===============================

The four most helpful commands, as well as their brief description, is shown
to you in a banner, every time you start IPython:

==========    =========================================================
command       description
==========    =========================================================
?             Introduction and overview of IPython's features.
%quickref     Quick reference.
help          Python's own help system.
object?       Details about 'object', use 'object??' for extra details.
==========    =========================================================

Tab completion
==============

Tab completion, especially for attributes, is a convenient way to explore the
structure of any object you're dealing with. Simply type ``object_name.<TAB>``
to view the object's attributes (see :ref:`the readline section <readline>` for
more). Besides Python objects and keywords, tab completion also works on file
and directory names.

Exploring your objects
======================

Typing ``object_name?`` will print all sorts of details about any object,
including docstrings, function definition lines (for call arguments) and
constructor details for classes. To get specific information on an object, you
can use the magic commands ``%pdoc``, ``%pdef``, ``%psource`` and ``%pfile``

.. _magics_explained:

Magic functions
===============

IPython has a set of predefined 'magic functions' that you can call with a
command line style syntax.  There are two kinds of magics, line-oriented and
cell-oriented.  **Line magics** are prefixed with the ``%`` character and work much
like OS command-line calls: they get as an argument the rest of the line, where
arguments are passed without parentheses or quotes.  **Cell magics** are
prefixed with a double ``%%``, and they are functions that get as an argument
not only the rest of the line, but also the lines below it in a separate
argument.

The following examples show how to call the builtin ``timeit`` magic, both in
line and cell mode::

      In [1]: %timeit range(1000)
      100000 loops, best of 3: 7.76 us per loop

      In [2]: %%timeit x = range(10000)
	 ...: max(x)
	 ...: 
      1000 loops, best of 3: 223 us per loop

The builtin magics include:

- Functions that work with code: ``%run``, ``%edit``, ``%save``, ``%macro``,
  ``%recall``, etc.
- Functions which affect the shell: ``%colors``, ``%xmode``, ``%autoindent``,
  ``%automagic``, etc.
- Other functions such as ``%reset``, ``%timeit``, ``%%file``, ``%load``, or
  ``%paste``.

You can always call them using the ``%`` prefix, and if you're calling a line
magic on a line by itself, you can omit even that::

    run thescript.py

You can toggle this behavior by running the ``%automagic`` magic.  Cell magics
must always have the ``%%`` prefix.

A more detailed explanation of the magic system can be obtained by calling
``%magic``, and for more details on any magic function, call ``%somemagic?`` to
read its docstring. To see all the available magic functions, call
``%lsmagic``.

.. seealso::

    `Cell magics`_ example notebook

Running and Editing
-------------------

The ``%run`` magic command allows you to run any python script and load all of
its data directly into the interactive namespace. Since the file is re-read
from disk each time, changes you make to it are reflected immediately (unlike
imported modules, which have to be specifically reloaded). IPython also
includes :ref:`dreload <dreload>`, a recursive reload function.

``%run`` has special flags for timing the execution of your scripts (-t), or
for running them under the control of either Python's pdb debugger (-d) or
profiler (-p).

The ``%edit`` command gives a reasonable approximation of multiline editing,
by invoking your favorite editor on the spot. IPython will execute the
code you type in there as if it were typed interactively.

Debugging
---------

After an exception occurs, you can call ``%debug`` to jump into the Python
debugger (pdb) and examine the problem. Alternatively, if you call ``%pdb``,
IPython will automatically start the debugger on any uncaught exception. You can
print variables, see code, execute statements and even walk up and down the
call stack to track down the true source of the problem. This can be an efficient
way to develop and debug code, in many cases eliminating the need for print
statements or external debugging tools.

You can also step through a program from the beginning by calling
``%run -d theprogram.py``.

History
=======

IPython stores both the commands you enter, and the results it produces. You
can easily go through previous commands with the up- and down-arrow keys, or
access your history in more sophisticated ways.

Input and output history are kept in variables called ``In`` and ``Out``, keyed
by the prompt numbers, e.g. ``In[4]``. The last three objects in output history
are also kept in variables named ``_``, ``__`` and ``___``.

You can use the ``%history`` magic function to examine past input and output.
Input history from previous sessions is saved in a database, and IPython can be
configured to save output history.

Several other magic functions can use your input history, including ``%edit``, 
``%rerun``, ``%recall``, ``%macro``, ``%save`` and ``%pastebin``. You can use a
standard format to refer to lines::

    %pastebin 3 18-20 ~1/1-5
    
This will take line 3 and lines 18 to 20 from the current session, and lines
1-5 from the previous session.

System shell commands
=====================

To run any command at the system shell, simply prefix it with !, e.g.::

    !ping www.bbc.co.uk
    
You can capture the output into a Python list, e.g.: ``files = !ls``. To pass
the values of Python variables or expressions to system commands, prefix them
with $: ``!grep -rF $pattern ipython/*``. See :ref:`our shell section
<system_shell_access>` for more details.
	
Define your own system aliases
------------------------------

It's convenient to have aliases to the system commands you use most often.
This allows you to work seamlessly from inside IPython with the same commands
you are used to in your system shell. IPython comes with some pre-defined
aliases and a complete system for changing directories, both via a stack (see
%pushd, %popd and %dhist) and via direct %cd. The latter keeps a history of
visited directories and allows you to go to any previously visited one.


Configuration
=============

Much of IPython can be tweaked through :doc:`configuration </config/intro>`.
To get started, use the command ``ipython profile create`` to produce the
default config files. These will be placed in
:file:`~/.ipython/profile_default`, and contain comments explaining
what the various options do.

Profiles allow you to use IPython for different tasks, keeping separate config
files and history for each one. More details in :ref:`the profiles section
<profiles>`.

Startup Files
-------------

If you want some code to be run at the beginning of every IPython session, the
easiest way is to add Python (.py) or IPython (.ipy) scripts to your
:file:`profile_default/startup/` directory. Files here will be executed as soon
as the IPython shell is constructed, before any other code or scripts you have
specified. The files will be run in order of their names, so you can control the
ordering with prefixes, like ``10-myimports.py``.

.. include:: ../links.txt
