Mikhail Pak mp4096

Using a precompiled distribution

Anaconda: https://www.continuum.io/downloads
WinPython: https://winpython.github.io/

DIY installation

Installing Python

Go to https://www.python.org/downloads/ and download the 3.* or 2.7 version for Win x86-64
Install the .exe file
Install the libraries of your choice by running pip install <package name> from the cmd.exe. Don't forget to run cmd.exe with administrator rights

Some advice for your thesis

Numbers, numbers, numbers

Please, round all the numbers to a reasonable number of digits. In engineering, four significant digits are enough. And if you can compute 10 significant digits, you can be world-famous and earn $100.
If you perform any experimental measurements, compute the confidence intervals too. alpha = 0.05 is a good default value for the significance level.
If you have less than ca. 30 measurements, use only nonparametric statistics. If you have more than 30 samples, it is a good idea to check them for normality.
Correlation does not imply causation
Always specify units of measurements. siunitx is a great LaTeX package for this.

Do not do the same work twice

Notes on Fortran

These are some initial impressions of Fortran 2008 as seen by a MATLAB person.

Very generally, I would say Fortran is quite similar to MATLAB (I know that it's actually the other way round). Apart from this, here are some language features that I found quite interesting/quirky/nice/annoying (in no particular order):

Implicit typing:
- Implicit typing in Fortran has nothing to do with modern type inference (a-la auto in C++11)! If it is active, the compiler tries to assign types based on variable names. 😱 So it is really necessary to always use implicit none.
Array indexing:
- Can be specified by the programmer, e.g. one can start indexing with 0 or even use negative indices. On the other hand: Prepare to memorise scenarios in which indices are remapped to 1:N by default and a couple of cases when indices remain the same.
- MATLAB slices are specified as <lower bound> : <step size> : <upper bound>, whereas Fortran uses ` :

	import re


	def main(filename_in, filename_out):

	re_coord_pattern = "\((?P<x>[-.\d]),(?P<y>[-.\d])\)"
	re_coord = re.compile(re_coord_pattern)

	with open(filename_in, "r") as f_in, open(filename_out, "w") as f_out:
	for line in f_in:

	# Batch convert all .doc/.docx files encountered in folder and all its subfolders
	# The produced PDF files are stored in the invocation folder
	#
	# Adapted from http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16534292/basic-powershell-batch-convert-word-docx-to-pdf
	# Thanks to MFT, takabanana, ComFreek
	#
	# If PowerShell exits with an error, check if unsigned scripts are allowed in your system.
	# You can allow them by calling PowerShell as an Administrator and typing
	# ```
	# Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

	import codecs
	import os
	import fnmatch


	def delete_if_exists(filename):
	if os.path.exists(filename):
	os.remove(filename)

	function AsyncCall(arg1, arg2)
	batchFileLocation = 'mybatch.bat';
	cmdArgs = sprintf('""%s" "%s" "%s""', batchFileLocation, arg1, arg2);

	proc = System.Diagnostics.Process();
	proc.StartInfo.FileName = 'cmd.exe';
	proc.StartInfo.Arguments = ['/C', cmdArgs];
	proc.StartInfo.WindowStyle = System.Diagnostics.ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
	proc.Start();
	end