How to create python virtual environment in Mac and Windows

How python virtual environment works?

A Python virtual environment is a tool used to isolate specific Python environments on a single machine, allowing you to work on multiple projects with different dependencies and package versions.

When you create a virtual environment, it creates a copy of the Python executable and the libraries needed to run your Python code. This copy is isolated from the global Python environment, which means that any changes you make to the virtual environment will not affect the global environment, and vice versa.

To create a virtual environment, you can use Python’s built-in `venv` module. Once the virtual environment is created, you can activate it by running the `activate` script, which will modify your terminal or command prompt to indicate that the virtual environment is active. You can then use the pip command to install packages in the virtual environment.

When you are finished working in the virtual environment, you can deactivate it by running the deactivate command. This will restore the global Python environment and allow you to switch to a different virtual environment, if needed.

Using virtual environments can be helpful in a number of situations. For example, if you are working on multiple projects with different package dependencies, you can use separate virtual environments for each project to avoid conflicts. Virtual environments can also be useful if you want to test your code with different versions of a package, or if you want to share your code with others without having to include all of the dependencies in the project.

How to create python virtual environment for MAC and Windows?

To create and use a Python virtual environment in Mac or Windows, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the terminal (Mac) or command prompt (Windows) and navigate to the directory where you want to create the virtual environment.

2. Run the following command to create a virtual environment using Python’s built-in venv module:

python3 -m venv env

This will create a new directory called env in the current directory, which will contain the Python executable files and the libraries needed to run your Python code.

3. In Mac, activate the virtual environment by running the following command:

source env/bin/activate

In Windows, activate the virtual environment by running the following command:

env\Scripts\activate

You should now see the name of your virtual environment in the terminal prompt or command prompt, indicating that it is active.

4. To install packages in your virtual environment, use the pip command. For example, to install the pandas package, run the following command:

pip install pandas

5. To deactivate the virtual environment, run the following command:

deactivate

You can now switch between different virtual environments by activating and deactivating them as needed. This allows you to have separate environments for different projects, with different package versions, which can help avoid conflicts and ensure that your projects are isolated from one another.

Why you should use virtual environment in python?

There are several benefits to creating virtual environments in Python:

1. Isolation of dependencies: Virtual environments allow you to isolate the dependencies of each project, which means that you can have different versions of packages installed for different projects without causing conflicts. This can be particularly useful if you are working on multiple projects with different package requirements.
2. Easier package management: With virtual environments, you can use the pip command to install, update, and remove packages for a specific project without affecting the global Python environment. This can make it easier to manage the packages for your projects and avoid conflicts.
3. Improved reproducibility: If you share your code with others or deploy it to a production environment, using a virtual environment can help ensure that the code will run correctly, even if the global Python environment has different packages or different versions of packages installed.
4. Simplified testing: Virtual environments can be helpful when testing your code with different versions of a package or with different package combinations. You can create separate virtual environments for each test scenario and switch between them easily.

Overall, virtual environments can help you manage your Python projects more effectively and avoid conflicts between packages, which can make it easier to develop and maintain your code.

For more information about Python virtual environments, you can refer to the documentation: https://docs.python.org/3/library/venv.html