Quick start

This section provides instructions for getting up and running quickly with PyMeasure.

Setting up Python

The easiest way to install the necessary Python environment for PyMeasure is through the Anaconda distribution, which includes 720 scientific packages. The advantage of using this approach over just relying on the pip installer is that Anaconda correctly installs the required Qt libraries.

Download and install the appropriate Python version of Anaconda for your operating system.

Installing PyMeasure

Install with conda

If you have the Anaconda distribution you can use the conda package manager to easily install PyMeasure and all required dependencies.

Open a terminal and type the following commands (on Windows look for the Anaconda Prompt in the Start Menu):

conda config --add channels conda-forge
conda install pymeasure

This will install PyMeasure and all the required dependencies.

Install with pip

PyMeasure can also be installed with pip.

pip install pymeasure

Depending on your operating system, using this method may require additional work to install the required dependencies, which include the Qt libraries.

Installing VISA

Typically, communication with your instrument will happen using PyVISA, which is installed automatically. However, this needs a VISA implementation installed to handle device communication. If you do not already know what this means, install the pure-Python pyvisa-py package (using the same installation you used above). If you want to know more, consult the PyVISA documentation.

Checking the version

Now that you have Python and PyMeasure installed, open your python environment (e.g. a REPL or Jupyter notebook) to test which version you have installed. Execute the following Python code.

import pymeasure
pymeasure.__version__

You should see the version of PyMeasure printed out. At this point you have PyMeasure installed, and you are ready to start using it! Are you ready to connect to an instrument?