python: after installing anaconda, how to import pandas

Question

I have installed anaconda. Now when i am trying to run

import pandas as pd

I am getting the following error

Traceback (most re         


        

Answer 1

The cool thing about anaconda is, that you can manage virtual environments for several projects. Those also have the benefit of keeping several python installations apart. This could be a problem when several installations of a module or package are interfering with each other.

Try the following:

1. Create a new anaconda environment with user@machine:~$ conda create -n pandas_env python=2.7
2. Activate the environment with user@machine:~$ source activate pandas_env on Linux/OSX or $ activate pandas_env on Windows. On Linux the active environment is shown in parenthesis in front of the user name in the shell. (I am not sure how windows handles this, but you can see it by typing $ conda info -e. The one with the * next to it is the active one)
3. Type (pandas_env)user@machine:~$ conda list to show a list of all installed modules.
4. If pandas is missing from this list, install it (while still inside the pandas_env environment) with (pandas_env)user@machine:~$ conda install pandas, as @Fiabetto suggested.
5. Open python (pandas_env)user@machine:~$ python and try to load pandas again.

Note that now you are working in a python environment, that only knows the modules installed inside the pandas_env environment. Every time you want to use it you have to activate the environment. This might feel a little bit clunky at first, but really shines once you have to manage different versions of python (like 2.7 or 3.4) or you need a specific version of a module (like numpy 1.7).

Edit:

If this still does not work you have several options:

1. Check if the right pandas module is found:

   `(pandas_env)user@machine:~$ python`
   Python 2.7.10 |Continuum Analytics, Inc.| (default, Sep 15 2015, 14:50:01)
   >>> import imp
   >>> imp.find_module("pandas")
   (None, '/path/to/miniconda3/envs/foo/lib/python2.7/site-packages/pandas', ('', '', 5))
   
   # See what this returns on your system.
   

2. Reinstall pandas in your environment with $ conda install -f pandas. This might help if you files have been corrupted somehow.

3. Install pandas from a different source (using pip). To do this, create a new environment like above (make sure to pick a different name to avoid clashes here) but replace point 4 by (pandas_env)user@machine:~$ pip install pandas.
4. Reinstall anaconda (make sure you pick the right version 32bit / 64bit depending on your OS, this can sometimes lead to problems). It could be possible, that your 'normal' and your anaconda python are clashing. As a last resort you could try to uninstall your 'normal' python before you reinstall anaconda.