Python Virtual Environment Setup

Why Use a Virtual Environment?

A virtual environment allows you to manage dependencies for your project in an isolated environment, avoiding conflicts with other projects. It ensures that the packages you install are specific to the project and do not interfere with your global Python installation.

Steps to Set Up a Virtual Environment

1. Install Python

Make sure Python is installed on your system. You can download it from the official website: python.org.

To check if Python is already installed, run:

   python --version

2. Activate the Virtual Environment

To start using the virtual environment, you need to activate it.

• On Windows:

bash venv\Scripts\activate - On macOS/Linux:

bash source venv/Scripts/activate

Once activated, your terminal prompt will change to show the name of the virtual environment (e.g., (venv)).

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3. Install Dependencies

With the virtual environment activated, you can install the required packages using pip. For example, to install MkDocs:

   pip install mkdocs

You can also install multiple packages at once by listing them:

   pip install mkdocs mkdocs-material

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4. Deactivate the Virtual Environment

When you're done working in the virtual environment, you can deactivate it by running:

   deactivate

This will return you to the global Python environment.