.. _getting_started:

Getting started
###############

Prerequisites
*************

You need Python version 3.8 or later. Versions up to and including 3.11 are tested, version 3.12 is not tested on deployment 
with Github Actions but successfully tested locally.

You can install Python from https://www.python.org or https://www.anaconda.com.

Installation
************

QATS is installed from PyPI by using `pip`:

.. code-block:: console

    $ python -m pip install qats

Now you should be able to import the package in the Python console

.. code-block:: python

    >>> import qats
    >>> help(qats)

    Help on package qats:

    NAME
        qats - Library for efficient processing and visualization of time series.

    PACKAGE CONTENTS
        app (package)
        cli
        fatigue
        gumbel
        gumbelmin
        rainflow
        readers (package)
        signal
        stats
        ts
        tsdb
        weibull
    ...
    ...
    >>>

and run the command line interface (CLI).

.. code-block:: console

    $ qats -h

    usage: qats [-h] [--version] {app,config} ...

    QATS is a library and desktop application for time series analysis

    optional arguments:
      -h, --help    show this help message and exit
      --version     Package version

    Commands:
      {app,config}
        app         Launch the desktop application
        config      Configure the package


.. note::
    As of version 5.0.0, qats installs the `Qt <https://www.qt.io>`_ binding `PySide6 <https://pypi.org/project/PySide6/>`_.
    Although not recommended, you can choose a different qt binding yourself by installing the package and setting the 
    environmental variable :code:`QT_API`. Accepted values include :code:`pyqt6` (to use PyQt6) and :code:`pyside6` (PySide6). For more details, 
    see `README file for qtpy <https://github.com/spyder-ide/qtpy/blob/master/README.md>`_.

.. note::
    As of version 4.11.0, the CLI is also available through the ``python -m`` switch, for example:

    .. code-block::

        $ python -m qats -h
        $ python -m qats app

..        $ python -m qats config --link-app


..    :code:`python -m qats config --link-app-no-exe`.


..    :code:`python -m qats -h` or :code:`python -m qats app`.



Launching the GUI
*****************

The GUI is launched via the CLI:

.. code-block::

    $ qats app

If using qats on **Windows**, you may add a shortcut for launching the qats GUI to your Windows Start menu and on the Desktop by running the command:

.. code-block::

    C:\> qats config --link-app


Your first script
*****************

Import the time series database, load data to it from file and plot it all.

.. literalinclude:: examples/plot.py
   :language: python
   :linenos:
   :lines: 1-17

Take a look at :ref:`examples` and the :ref:`api` to learn how to use :code:`qats` and build it into your code.