Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence that involves training algorithms to make predictions or decisions based on input data. It has a wide range of applications, from image recognition to natural language processing.
To get started with machine learning, you will need to set up your environment. This involves selecting an IDE, such as PyCharm, and installing Anaconda, which is a distribution environment that comes pre-installed with data science and machine learning packages.
After installing Anaconda, you must ensure that it was properly installed by checking for the conda command in the command prompt. If you are unable to access conda, you may need to add the installation path to your environmental variables using the Advanced settings on Windows.
Once your environment is set up, you can begin learning the basics of machine learning, such as how to train and evaluate models using various algorithms and techniques.
In this post, we will walk through setting up your computer for Machine Learning
a. Install an IDE PyCharm: There are different types of IDE but we will use PyCharm here simply because it's easy to set up and use on the go. Click on the named link, download and follow the prompts to install Pycharm.
b. Install Anaconda, a distribution environment that comes preinstalled with data science and machine learning packages. It's used for Machine learning, data science, predictive analysis and data processing and many other AI-related works. Follow the setup prompts to finish installing Anaconda. It is recommended to use default settings and check all boxes in the prompts.
c. You might be required to restart your computer to complete the installation process. After that, Go to the command prompt and ensure that the conda (anaconda) was properly installed. To do this type conda on the command prompt
C:\Users\bella>conda
d. If you are unable to access conda from the Command prompt, go to the Advanced setting on Windows and add these to your Environmental Variables>Path>New
C:\Users\bella\anaconda3\Scripts
C:\Users\bella\anaconda3
C:\Users\bella\anaconda3\Library\bin
Edit <bella> to your name or the exact name path where your installation was made. By default, if you didn't change the windows suggested path during installation, this should go to C:\Users\yourname\anaconda3 or the latest version of anaconda which you installed.
e. After adding these 3 new paths. Close the command prompt and open it again to test that anaconda was installed correctly. Type conda again
C:\Users\bella>conda
Now, you should see a screen like this
So far, we have installed PyCharm, an IDE for ML, and Anaconda, a distributed package environment which comes preinstalled with libraries, tools and packages needed for our ML algorithms.
In the next post, we will say "Hello World" in ML.