TIL: Installing Jupyter And R Support

I recently got through some difficulties installing Jupyter and incorporating R support, so I wanted to write up a quick installation post for a Linux installation.

First, install Jupyter through anaconda.  Notes:

1. I grabbed the Python 3.5 version.  I don’t intend to write too much Python code here, so it shouldn’t make a huge difference to me.
2. When you install, do not run sudo.  Just run the bash script.  It will install in your home directory by default, and for a one-off installation on a VM (like my scenario), this is fine.  It also makes future steps easier.

When running Jupyter, I started by following this guide.  Notes:

1. Starting Jupyter is as easy as running “jupyter notebook” and navigating to http://localhost:8888 in a browser.
2. Midori does not appear to be a good browser for Jupyter; when I tried to open a new notebook, I got an error message in the console and the browser seemed not to want to open up the notebook.  Firefox worked just fine.  Maybe I’m doing this wrong, though.

As for installing R support, Andrie de Vries has a nice post on the topic.  Notes:

1. Here’s where not running sudo above pays off.  If you did run sudo, you’ll get an error saying that you can’t install in the home directory and that you should run a command to make a copy of the files…in your home directory.  If you accidentally ran sudo, you can chmod all of the files in your anaconda3/ directory using “chmod -R [user]:[user] anaconda3/” and correct the issue.
2. Installation is as simple as running “conda install -c r ipython-notebook r-irkernel”  Again, note that I’m not running sudo here.