Initial Model Set-up#

This Section will walk you through on how to install and set up the model. A lot of this should only be one-time so please make sure that this process is carried out carefully.

All about environments#

Python environments for this project should be thought of as isolated computational spaces that will have the necessary configurations needed for you to run the specific project or model - which in this case is Resolve

Environments help in setting up packages, dependencies, libraries etc by running a simpe command and do not require much computational background and knowledge - thus enabling the usage of the product for a wide array of stakeholders.

There are many softwares that help in creating, activating and maintaining environments - one of which is Anaconda

We recommend using the Anaconda Python distribution and package manager. During the installation process, we recommend selecting the “Add Anaconda3 to my PATH environment variable” option so that you have easy access to the conda command from the command line.

Tip

If you run into any conda not recognized or command not found: conda messages in the command line in the following steps, this means that you did not add Anaconda to your PATH. You can add either rerun the installer (easiest) or manually add Anaconda to your PATH (see these instructions for some help).

Initial conda Set-up#

In order for conda to work properly, you will need to initialize your “shell” (command line, e.g., Command Prompt).

Windows
Option 1: Using Command Prompt

If you use Command Prompt, open a new Command Prompt window and enter:

conda init cmd.exe
Option 2: Using PowerShell

If you use PowerShell, open a new PowerShell window and enter:

conda init PowerShell

Then, close all PowerShell windows, and open a new PowerShell window using the “Run as Administrator” option (right-click on the PowerShell application icon in the Start Menu to find this option). Then, enter the following command:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

Then, close the PowerShell window and open a new one.

macOS Terminal

Since macOS Catalina (10.15), the default “shell” program is zsh. These instructions assume you’re on a recent version of macOS. Open Terminal and use the following command:

conda init zsh

Earlier versions of macOS use bash, so replace zsh in the command above with bash.

Creating Environments#

Once you have Anaconda set-up and have the necessary Resolve files and folders you are ready to create environments.

We will use the conda command to create an isolated environment for the Resolve to run within, without disturbing any other Python packages you may have already installed (see the conda documentation for more details on conda environments).

To create the conda environment, we will use the environment.yml file at the top level of the repository. Open your shell of choice and navigate into your cloned copy of the repository. Then, run the following command:

  • Create an environment called resolve-env:

    conda env create -f environment.yml

  • In general it is best practice to name your environment for better tractability. That can be as follows:

    conda env create -f environment.yml --name your-environment-name

Environments using Pycharm#

It is also possible for users to directly use Pycharm as an interface to create and manage Python based environments for Resolve.

Step 1: Navigate over to your Resolve specific folder on Pycharm - make sure that the file environment.yml is at the top of the directory

Step 2: At the bottom left of your Pycharm Window, click on the terminal icon to open up the terminal. This should show your selected directory

step 3: In the terminal enter the following code

  • Create an environment called resolve-test-env:

    conda env create -f environment.yml --name resolve-test-env

Note that the name of the environment is non-consequential and can be set per user’s preference.

Once you enter the code, it will take about 2-5 minutes for the system to setup your environment - note that this is a one-time exercise.

After the installation is done - the terminal will prompt you to either activate or de-activate the environment, which will look as follows:

activate_img.png

Activating the environment would mean that you now have the virtual computing capabilities to run the model. If you would like to learn more about virtual environments and dependencies, supplemental information can be found here

Tip

In order to maintain compatability between different versions, and updates of Resolve, it is best practice to use new environments for each new release. Environments do not interact with one another and this would make sure that the user is able to switch back and forth between different resolve versions with ease.

Solvers (optional) for the most part#

Optional

The resolve-env environment comes with the open-source HiGHS solver, which enables out-of-the-box solving ofResolve cases on any platform. Commercial solvers like Gurobi, IBM CPLEX, and FICO XPRESS offer additional solver features & typically substantially faster solve times. If you have licenses for any of these solvers, Resolve will work with them; follow the vendor installation & licensing instructions.

[Add point regarding runtime based on solvers]