COMP 101 Problem Solving with Computing


Software Links

If you are planning to use your own computer for this course you can find instructions for downloading and verifying the installation of the required course software here. You will need this for the first day of class so please install and test the software according to the instructions provided below.

We will be using Python 2.7.1 in this class. If you have version 2.5 or 2.6 of Python installed, you should be ok (no guarantees though), however be sure you install the version of the PIL that goes with Python 2.5 or 2.6 respectively (see the PDF document below).


Getting and Installing the Software

The following are all direct links to Windows installers (tested with XP). Download and install these in the order shown and accept all default settings.

You are not quite done:

Everyone should view this PDF document that describes how to test your installation (it also contains a bit more detailed instructions on the installation). If you don't have access to a PDF reader I recommend the free FoxIt Reader 4.1.


Please note that while the official latest version of Python is 3.x, do not download/install it. Version 3 of Python is still relatively new and not fully compatible with many of the common/useful libraries available. Most production systems will continue to use 2.5, 2.6 or 2.7 for the foreseeable future, so this is what you should be working with (at least in this course) to avoid problems.



Please contact your instructor with comments and/or questions.