SpacePy relies on several other pieces of software for complete functionality. Installing SpacePy links to details on installing the required software for each platform.
Without these packages installed, SpacePy will not function. The standard installer checks for these dependencies and will not install without them.
Python is the core language for SpacePy. Python 2.6 or later is required. SpacePy works under Python 3, but Python 2 is still recommended for most users. Python 3 is not simply a “newer” Python 2; there are substantial differences in the language. See Should I use Python 2 or Python 3?.
NumPy provides the high-performance array data structure used throughout SpacePy. Version 1.4 or later is required; 1.6 or later recommended.
If you choose not to install matplotlib, dateutil is required. (Installing matplotlib will fulfill this dependency.)
If you are installing SpacePy from source, a working C compiler is required. (Not necessary for the Windows binary installer.)
Without these packages, SpacePy will install, but certain features may not be available. Usually an ImportError means a dependency is missing.
These are simply marked as dependencies in SpacePy metadata and thus will be automatically installed when using dependency-resolving methods such as pip.
SciPy provides several useful scientific and numerical functions build on top of NumPy. It is highly recommended. Version 0.7.0 or later should suffice. The following modules may have limited functionality without SciPy:
matplotlib is the preferred plotting package for Python. It is highly recommended. Without it, you will not be able to effectively visualize data, and the following modules may have limited functionality:
ffnet is a neural network package, required for LANLstar. The latest release of ffnet at this writing, 0.7.1, does not support Python 3. We have submitted patches for Python 3 support and they have been integrated into SVN as of r364, so they should be in the next version. In the meantime, users who require Python 3 support will need to install ffnet from a subversion checkout.
h5py provides a Python interface to HDF5 files. It is required for the HDF import/export capability of datamodel and for use of the omni module.