GetStarted.md

Getting Started

Welcome to the setup guide that will get you up and running with the project. This guide includes creating a virtual environment, activating it, installing the necessary dependencies, and finally, running the main script.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have Python installed on your computer. This project is compatible with Python 3.6 and newer versions. You can verify your Python version by executing python --version or python3 --version in your terminal.

Setup Instructions

Step 1: Clone the Project

If you haven't already, clone the project repository to your local machine and navigate to the project directory:

git clone <[email protected]:Logan-Fouts/Thesis.git>
cd Thesis

Step 2: Create and Activate the Virtual Environment

Create a virtual environment, it can be named thesis_venv, within the project directory, execute the following command:

• For Windows, macOS, and Linux:

  python -m venv thesis_venv

After creating the virtual environment, you need to activate it.:

• Windows:

  .\thesis_venv\Scripts\activate

• macOS and Linux:

  source thesis_venv/bin/activate

Step 3: Install Required Dependencies

With the virtual environment activated, proceed to install the project's dependencies as listed in requirements.txt:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 4: Run the Project

Now that the environment is set up and dependencies are installed, you can run the main script of the project:

python main.py

Or, on systems where Python 3 is not the default version, you might need to use python3:

python3 main.py

This command executes the main.py script, which is the entry point of your project. Make sure to run this from the root directory of the project with the virtual environment activated.

Step 5: Deactivating the Virtual Environment

When you're done working on the project, you can deactivate the virtual environment by running:

deactivate