0.1. Environment Setup

Setup a Python programming environment with GitHub and PyCharm.

Python

• Install Python 3.11.x.

• Lower versions of Python may not be compatible with this course.

GitHub

1. Login to GitHub (create an account if you do not have one).

2. Create a new repository called conversational-ai and make it private.

3. From the [Settings] menu, add the instructors as collaborators of this repository.

   • Jinho Choi: jdchoi77

   • Talyn Fan: talynfan

   • Benjamin Ascoli: bossben

   • Sichang Tu: SichangTu

PyCharm

Install PyCharm on your local machine:

• The following instructions assume that you have "PyCharm 2022.3.x Professional Edition".

• You can get the professional version by applying for an academic license.

Configure your GitHub account:

1. Go to [Preferences] - [Version Control] - [GitHub].

2. Press [+], select Log in via GitHub, and follow the procedure.

Create a new project:

1. Press the [Get from VCS] button on the Welcome prompt.

2. Choose [GitHub] on the left menu, select the conversational-ai repository, and press [Clone] (make sure the directory name is conversational-ai).

Setup an interpreter:

1. Go to [Preferences] - [Project: conversational-ai] - [Project Interpreter].

2. Click Add Interpreter and select Add Local Interpreter.

3. In the prompted window, choose [Virtualenv Environment] on the left menu, configure as follows, then press [OK]:

   • Environment: New

   • Location: LOCAL_PATH/conversational-ai/venv

   • Base interpreter: Python 3.11

Install packages:

1. Open a terminal by clicking [Terminal] at the bottom (or go to [View] - [Terminal]).

2. Upgrade pip (if necessary) by entering the following command into the terminal:

   python -m pip install --upgrade pip

3. Install the Emora State Transition Dialogue Manager (STDM) with the following command:

   pip install emora_stdm

4. If the terminal prompts "Successfully installed ...", the packages are installed on your machine.