Python
Python is a general-purpose high-level programming language that is widely used for scientific computing. For instructions on using Python effectively on CSC supercomputers, please see our Python usage guide.
Available
- Puhti: 3.x versions
- Mahti: 3.x versions
License
Python packages are usually licensed under various free and open source (FOSS) licenses. Python itself is licensed under the PSF License, which is also open source.
Usage
Our Python usage guide contains instructions for installing packages, using different development environments and doing parallel processing with Python.
It is generally recommended to use one of pre-installed Python environments for computing, since these already contain the essential libraries for most uses. If for some reason one wishes to use Python without loading an environment module, a basic system Python is also available.
System Python
If using a pre-installed environment is not suitable, the basic system Python 3.9 can be launched with:
python3.9
Warning
It is strongly advised to explicitly launch Python version 3.9 as
above, since the default version launched by python3 (3.6.8) has
reached end-of-life.
Pre-installed Python environments
Puhti and Mahti have several pre-installed environment modules containing Python environments made for different science areas. For more details about the Python versions and libraries that are available for a module, please see the corresponding application page by opening one of the links in the table below.
| Module name | Purpose | Package list |
|---|---|---|
| biopythontools | bioinformatics | open |
| geoconda | geoinformatics | open |
| jax | JAX ML framework | open |
| python-data | data analysis and ML utilities | open |
| pytorch | PyTorch ML framework | open |
| qiskit | quantum computing | open |
| tensorflow | TensorFlow ML framework | open |
To use any of the above environments, simply load the corresponding module
using the module load command.
For example:
module load python-data
Typically, after activating a Python-based module, the python3 command points
to a version of Python that is newer than the default system Python and has a
wider set of available packages. You can always check the Python version
with the command python3 --version, and the full path of the command with
which python3 (to see if you are using the system Python or one from the
modules listed above).
Custom Python environments
While the pre-installed Python environments suffice for many applications, projects often involve tasks which require additional libraries. The following options are available in this case: