Introduction to Jupyter Notebook

Jupyter Notebook is a web-based interactive computing environment that integrates code execution, documentation, and visualization. It supports live coding, mathematical equations, narrative text, and rich media output within a single document.

Core Components

1. Web Application: Provides an interface for authoring and executing documents containing code, equations, and visualizations.
2. Notebook Documents: Combines executable code, equations, visualizations, and explanatory text in a shareable format.

Key Features

• Syntax highlighting and code completion
• Inline code execution with immediate output
• Markdown support for documentation

Installing Jupyter Notebook

Prerequisites

• Python 2.7 or Python 3.3+

Installation Methods

Via Anaconda (Recommended for Beginners)

Anaconda includes Jupyter Notebook and over 180 scientific packages. Install Anaconda from its ofifcial site. If already installed, verify or add Jupyter with:

conda install jupyter

Using pip

1. Upgrade pip:

   # Python 3
   pip3 install --upgrade pip
   
   # Python 2
   pip install --upgrade pip
   

2. Install Jupyter:

   # Python 3
   pip3 install jupyter
   
   # Python 2
   pip install jupyter
   

Launching Jupyter Notebook

Basic Commands

• Start server:

  jupyter notebook
  

• Access via browser at http://localhost:8888

Advanced Options

• Custom port:

  jupyter notebook --port 9999
  

• Headless mode (no browser):

  jupyter notebook --no-browser
  

  Copy the generated URL to access later.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Magic Commands

• Execute external script:

  %run script.py
  

• Time execution:

  %time statement
  

• Measure average runtime:

  %timeit statement
  

• Time multi-line blocks:

  %%timeit
  line1
  line2