.. EE 508 / DS 537: Data Science for Conservation Decisions

Software
========


Python
~~~~~~

We will spend >90% of our coding time in Python.

To set up your environment, see: :doc:`../getting-started/environment`.


QGIS
~~~~

QGIS is a geographic information system (GIS) software with a GUI (point-and-click) interface that is free and open-source. It is the leading cross-platform GIS available today (Mac, Windows, and Linux).

QGIS is a fantastic tool if you want to interact a lot with your map: zooming around, adding and editing layers, etc.

We begin using it in the very first lab (:doc:`../labs/lab1/lab1-1`) of EE 508. It's a great tool for "looking at" the spatial data in its geographic context (satellite imagery, Google Maps, etc.). You can use it throughout the course.

`Download QGIS <https://qgis.org/download/>`_ and install it.


R & RStudio
~~~~~~~~~~~

R is a programming language for statistical computing and data visualization.

We'll use a bit of R in Lab 4, because it has (or at least had) the better matching packages.

If you have no experience in R, no worries: the basics you need for Lab 4 are quickly explained.

`Download R and RStudio <https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/>`_ and install both.


.. _plain-text-editor:

Plain-text editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You will need an editor that can edit and write plain text (no formatting) to edit code, config files, and some data files (:file:`.csv.`).

If you don't have one yet, make sure you get one. There are `many options <https://opensource.com/article/21/2/open-source-text-editors>`_.

For lightweight all-purpose editing, I use the free `Sublime Text <https://www.sublimetext.com/download>`_.