QuantEcon.py

The quantecon Python library provides a suite of modules for quantitative economics and computational science. Key modules available for end-users include:

• game_theory: Tools for game theoretic modeling.
• markov: Implementations and utilities for Markov chains.
• optimize: Optimization algorithms.
• random: Utilities for random number generation.
• tools: A collection of general-purpose tools.
• util: Internal utilities (primarily used by package developers).

The documentation Makefile includes a utility command myhtml that automates a clean build process. Running make myhtml performs the following sequence:

1. Runs srcclean to remove old generated modules, models, tools, and index files.
2. Re-installs the quantecon library locally.
3. Runs qe_apidoc.py to regenerate API documentation.
4. Runs make html to build the final Sphinx HTML output.

This is the recommended way to ensure a fresh, consistent build.

If your installed version is outdated, you can upgrade it using pip.

pip install --upgrade quantecon

To build or work with the QuantEcon documentation, you need additional dependencies beyond the core library. You can install them using conda:

conda install sphinx numpydoc sphinx_rtd_theme mock

To install the package manually from the GitHub repository, clone the repository and use flit to perform the installation.

git clone https://github.com/QuantEcon/QuantEcon.py
cd QuantEcon.py
pip install flit
flit install

After installation, import the package using import quantecon as qe. You can verify your installed version by accessing the __version__ attribute.

import quantecon as qe
print(qe.__version__)

QuantEcon.py uses the numpydoc format for docstrings to ensure consistency and compatibility with Sphinx's autodoc.

To verify how your docstrings render in HTML locally, install the documentation requirements and build the HTML using make. The output will be located in docs/build/html.

pip install -r docs/rtd-requirements.txt
cd docs
make html

To generate the documentation from source, follow these steps:

1. Install the quantecon library locally in your environment:

   cd ..
   pip install .
   cd docs

2. Execute the local API documentation generator script:

   python qe_apidoc.py

3. Run Sphinx using the provided Makefile (Unix-based systems only):

   make html

4. View the generated documentation by opening build/html/index.html in your browser.

Alternatively, you can install the package manually by cloning the GitHub repository and installing the local directory.

git clone https://github.com/QuantEcon/QuantEcon.py
cd QuantEcon.py
pip install .

You can install quantecon using pip or conda. It is recommended to use the Anaconda Python distribution for a full suite of scientific tools. If using conda, the conda-forge channel typically provides more recent releases than the main anaconda channel.

pip install quantecon

# Or using conda-forge
conda install -c conda-forge quantecon

To develop QuantEcon.py, it is recommended to use an isolated conda environment. The repository provides an environment.yml file (named qe) that includes the scientific stack and development tools like pytest, flake8, and flit.

After creating the environment, install the package in editable mode using flit install --symlink so that changes to the source code are reflected immediately.

git clone https://github.com/QuantEcon/QuantEcon.py
cd QuantEcon.py
conda env create -f environment.yml
conda activate qe
flit install --symlink