Python is a general-purpose language. It is designed in a way that comes with bare minimum functionality. Based on the use case that you intend to use Python for, additional packages need to be installed. The easiest way to install additional packages is through the pip installer program. This pip command can be used to install the additional packages:

pip install a_package

The packages that have already been installed need to be periodically updated to get the latest functionality. This is achieved by using the upgrade flag:

pip install a_package --upgrade

Another Python distribution for scientific computing is Anaconda, which can be downloaded from http://continuum.io/downloads.

In addition to using the pip command to install new packages, for Anaconda distribution, we also have the option of using the following command to install new packages:

conda install a_package

To update the existing packages, the Anaconda distribution gives us the option to use the following command:

conda update a_package

There are all sorts of Python packages that are available. Some of the important packages that are relevant for algorithms are described in the following section.