BRIDGES(Python): Using PyCharm

• If you do not have Pycharm installed, download Pycharm and install it on your computer.

• Visit the Bridges main page and create yourself an account by clicking the login button on the top navigation bar. Please ensure that your user id is devoid of spaces, as it will be used as part of the web link for your projects. After creating your account, click on your profile name in the upper right corner to view your profile. Once in your profile, you will see your API Key; you will need this API key in part 2 of the tutorial(as well as in every BRIDGES program you write).

Step 3a: Pycharm Environment Setup Open the Pycharm application, you should see something like this:
Step 3b: Create project, check Python interpreter, environment location Create a new project, name it appropriately, note its location on your filesystem and click Create Note: your system should have python 3.8 or higher installed for BRIDGES to work properly. Make sure that Pycharm has an interpreter by looking at the entry for Base interpreter in this window
Step 3c: Running Hello World. You will see a default python program; You should be able to run this by clicking the play button on the top right
Step 3d: Import Bridges Packages Next we will import the bridges and related packages as follows: Click on the Pycharm's (main application) Preferences (OSX) button. On MS Windows, it is under File-->Settings. Then click on Python Interpreter. You will see the adjacent image with the default packages required by the base system. We will next import the BRIDGES packages; for this click on the + button and you will see another popup window with a search bar at the top; type bridges (see adjacent window), and once you click on that you can hit the Install Package at the bottom left to install the Bridges package. You will see the packages installed as in the adjacent image. Go back to the main code window.
Step 4a: Load and run an example BRIDGES program Go to this BRIDGES Tutorial site and copy/paste a python tutorial program into the main window. Set an assignment number, and your credentials in the line that creates the Bridges object at the beginning of the program. Run the program by hitting the play You will see a link printed on the console. Use that to visualize the output.
Running additional BRIDGES programs. Look at the BRIDGES Tutorials pages for additional BRIDGES programs. When you create subsequent BRIDGES programs, you can reuse the environment you created above for your first BRIDGES program. During the environment setup (Step 3b) pick the environment you created for the first project. This will let you use the BRIDGES packages from the environment; else you will have to install BRIDGES again!