1. Installation and Setup

pwv_kpno is designed to be compatible with Python 2.7, and 3.6. The use of other python versions is possible, but not explicitly supported. If you experience installation problems that are not resolved by trying the suggestions below, please raise an issue on GitHub.

1.1. Installation

To install the package, please choose from one of the following options:

1.1.1. Using PIP (Recommended)

Using the pip package manager is the recommended method for installing pwv_kpno. To install with pip, run:

 pip install pwv_kpno

The pip package manager will automatically install any missing dependencies in your Python environment. If you have any issues installing the package, try installing each dependency individually and then reinstall pwv_kpno. Dependencies can be installed with pip by running:

 pip install numpy
 pip install astropy
 pip install requests
 pip install pytz
 pip install scipy

1.1.2. Using setup.py

If you don’t have pip available on your system, the source code can be downloaded from GitHub. pwv_kpno can be installed by directly running:

 python setup.py install --user

As in the previous method, any missing dependencies in your Python environment should be installed automatically. If you have any issues installing the package, first install each dependency individually and then try again.

1.2. Package Setup

pwv_kpno relies on PWV measurements taken by the SuomiNet project. In order to model the PWV transmission function for a given date, SuomiNet data for that date must be available on the host machine. By default, each release of pwv_kpno contains all necessary SuomiNet data from 2010 through the end of the previous year. It is recommended to update the local SuomiNet data after installing or updating the package, and periodically as necessary.

To download any new SuomiNet data use the update_models function:

>>> from pwv_kpno import pwv_atm
>>> pwv_atm.update_models()

Optionally, you can download data only for a specific year by passing the year as an argument:

>>> pwv_atm.update_models(year=2018)

Note that updating the locally available data requires the user to have permission to write and modify files within the package directory.

1.3. Running Tests

If desired, the test suite can be run using:

$ python setup.py tests

Note that pwv_kpno includes tests that download SuomiNet data from the internet (under 20 MB). If a connection cannot be established, these tests are skipped.