.. _guide:

MPIA Python Workshop
====================

About this website
------------------

This Python course for MPIA is adapted from the `Practical Python for
Astronomers <http://python4astronomers.github.com>`_ course written by Tom
Aldcroft, Tom Robitaille, Brian Refsdal, Gus Muench (Copyright 2011,
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) and released under a `Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 License <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>`_.

The present course has been restructured and adapted to reflect the interests
of the MPIA audience and includes MPIA-specific set-up information.

About the course
----------------

The MPIA Python course contains a series of hands-on workshops to explore
the Python language and the powerful analysis tools it provides. *The emphasis
is on using Python to solve real-world problems that astronomers are likely to
encounter in research*.

**Workshop topics**

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1

   intro/intro
   installation/installation
   pure_python/pure_python
   core/core
   plotting/plotting
   object_orientation/index
   fitting_data/fitting_data

Workshop Schedule
-----------------

The workshop schedule is as follows:

========== ======================================= ========================
Date       Topic                                   Location and time    
========== ======================================= ========================
Dec. 7th    Python Installation Day                Hörsaal,  9:15-12:15
Feb. 1st    Python Keynote                         Hörsaal, 10:30-11:30
Feb 15th    Introduction to pure Python            Hörsaal, 10:30-12:15
Feb 29th    Numpy and Scipy                        Hörsaal, 10:45-12:15
Mar 14th    Making plots with Matplotlib           Hörsaal, 10:45-12:15
Apr 11th    Making publication-quality plots       Hörsaal, 10:45-12:15
Apr 25th    Clinic                                 Hörsaal, 10:45-12:15
May 16th    Fitting data with Python               Hörsaal, 10:45-12:15
========== ======================================= ========================

About the Workshops
-------------------

The content presented here is suitable for self-study by those wishing to learn
Python for astronomy or other scientific research applications.

**A greater goal is for those knowledgable in Python to teach the workshop
series at their local institutions, adapting the content as desired.** To that
end we have developed the content in `Sphinx <http://sphinx.pocoo.org>`_
RestructuredText and hosted the source on github at
`<https://github.com/python4mpia/>`_. Anyone interested can clone the
repository or download a tarball and make modifications needed to present the
material locally.

We would also welcome comments, fixes, or suggestions for improvement. This
can be done as a Github `issue
<https://github.com/python4mpia/python4mpia/issues>`_ or `pull request
<https://github.com/python4mpia/python4mpia/pulls>`_.

About the Format
-----------------

The workshop presentations are formatted as Sphinx web documents instead of
the more traditional slide presentation. This was a natural choice for the
authors who all use `Sphinx`_ for Python documenation. This site highlights by
discussion and examples the advantages in using a web-based study guide. In
particular we found the non-linear format (e.g. jumping to different sections
or web sites) and ability to show longer examples were quite valuable.

Having full prose text results in a document which is far more useful as a
standalone study guide than presentation slides. Ironically it also reduces
the temptation to read from the screen.

+---+
|   |
+---+

.. :Authors:
.. :Copyright: