Project Jupyter is an open-source project that focuses on creating tools and technologies to facilitate interactive computing and data science workflows. The project’s name, Jupyter, is derived from the combination of three core programming languages: Julia, Python, and R. It was initially developed as an evolution of IPython, a popular interactive computing environment for Python.
The primary goal of Project Jupyter is to provide a web-based platform that supports the creation, sharing, and collaboration of interactive documents called Jupyter Notebooks. These notebooks blend code, text, visualizations, and equations into a single document, allowing users to combine code execution, data exploration, and narrative explanations in a reproducible manner.
Here are some key aspects and features of Project Jupyter:
- Jupyter Notebook: Jupyter Notebook is a web-based application that allows users to create and share interactive notebooks. Notebooks consist of cells that can contain code (executable in various programming languages), rich text, images, equations, and visualizations. Users can execute code cells, view the output, and document their analysis in real-time.
- Language Agnostic: While initially focused on Python, Jupyter now supports over 100 programming languages through the use of language-specific kernels. This means you can write and execute code in languages like R, Julia, Scala, and more within the same notebook.
- Interactive Computing: Jupyter promotes an interactive computing workflow, enabling users to iteratively explore data, experiment with code, and visualize results in a flexible and interactive manner. This approach enhances the reproducibility and transparency of data analysis and research.
- Collaboration and Sharing: Jupyter Notebooks can be easily shared with others, facilitating collaboration and knowledge dissemination. Notebooks can be saved in a file format (.ipynb) that contains the entire code, narrative, and outputs. These files can be shared via email, version-controlled repositories (e.g., GitHub), or through the Jupyter Notebook Viewer.
- JupyterLab: JupyterLab is the next-generation user interface for Jupyter, offering an extensible and customizable environment. It provides a more flexible and powerful interface compared to the Jupyter Notebook, allowing users to arrange multiple notebooks, code editors, terminals, and other components in a tabbed and multi-paned layout.
- Beyond Notebooks: While Jupyter Notebooks are the most popular component, the Jupyter ecosystem extends beyond notebooks. It includes tools for interactive data visualization (e.g., matplotlib, plotly), parallel computing (e.g., IPython parallel), interactive widgets, and more.
Overall, Project Jupyter has become a widely adopted platform in data science, scientific research, education, and industry, empowering users to combine code, data, and narrative in a seamless and interactive manner.