Page 251 - Beginning Programming with Pyth - John Paul Mueller

special needs in the conda environment, and to pip providing services
specifically for Python in any environment. You can read more about
these differences at
https://jakevdp.github.io/blog/2016/08/25/conda-myths-and- misconceptions/. When you need a Python-specific package, look to pip first. For example, pip gives you access to the Python Package Index (PyPI) found at https://pypi.python.org/pypi. The following sections discuss these two methods.
Opening the Anaconda Prompt
Before you can do much in the way of managing packages, you must open the Anaconda Prompt. The Anaconda Prompt is just like any other command prompt or terminal window, but it provide special configuration features to make working with the various command-line utilities supplied with Anaconda easier. To open the prompt, locate its icon in the Anaconda3 folder on your machine. For example, when using a Windows system, you can open the Anaconda Prompt by choosing Start ⇒ All Programs ⇒ Anaconda3 ⇒ Anaconda Prompt. The Anaconda Prompt may take a moment or two to appear onscreen because of its configuration requirements.
Working with conda packages
You can perform a wide range of tasks using conda, but some tasks are more common than others. The following sections describe how to perform five essential tasks using conda. You can obtain additional information about this utility at https://conda.io/docs/commands.html. Typing conda --help and pressing Enter also yields an overview of help information.
Viewing conda packages
You can view conda packages in two ways. The first is to create a list of available packages, while the second is to search for a specific package. Listing helps you discover whether a package is already installed. Searching helps you discover the details about the installed package.
You can perform searching and listing in a general way to locate everything installed on a particular system. In this case, you use the commands by themselves:
conda list
conda search