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How to Know Which Python is Running in Your Jupyter Notebook

As a data scientist, it’s crucial to ascertain the Python version running in your Jupyter environment. This blog explores various methods to identify the Python version in your Jupyter notebook and highlights the importance of this verification.
By Saturn Cloud | | Miscellaneous | Updated:

As a data scientist, you may often find yourself working with Jupyter notebooks. Jupyter notebooks are an excellent tool for data exploration, visualization, and analysis. However, sometimes you may need to know which version of Python is running in your Jupyter notebook. In this blog post, we will discuss a very straightforward method to find out which Python is running in your Jupyter notebook and why it’s important to verify your Python version.

Why is Knowing Your Python Version Important?

Before diving into the methods to determine which Python version is running in your Jupyter notebook, let’s discuss why it’s important to know this information in the first place.

  1. Compatibility: Some Python packages or libraries may require a specific version of Python to run correctly. Knowing your Python version will help you determine if your current environment is suitable for a particular package.

  2. Syntax Changes: There have been significant syntax changes between Python 2 and Python 3. Knowing which version you are using will help you avoid potential syntax errors when writing code in Jupyter notebooks.

  3. Project Requirements: If you are working on a project that requires a specific Python version, you need to ensure that your Jupyter notebook is running the correct version to avoid potential issues during development.

Now that we understand the importance of knowing which Python version is running in your Jupyter notebook, let’s discuss the different methods you can use to find this information.

How to know which python is running?

The easiest ways to determine the Python version running in your Jupyter notebook is to use the built-in sys module. The sys module provides access to some variables used or maintained by the interpreter and functions that interact with the interpreter. You can use the sys.version_info attribute to get the Python version as a tuple of integers.

To use this method, follow these steps:

  1. Open your Jupyter notebook.
  2. In a new code cell, type the following code:
import sys
sys.version_info
  1. Run the cell by pressing Shift + Enter.

The output will display the Python version as a tuple in the format (major, minor, micro, release level, serial). For example, (3, 8, 5, 'final', 0) indicates Python 3.8.5.

You can also print the Python version as a string by using the sys.version attribute:

import sys
print(sys.version)

Running this cell will display the Python version as a string, such as 3.8.5 (default, Jan 27 2021, 15:41:15).

Conclusion

Knowing which Python version is running in your Jupyter notebook is essential for compatibility, syntax, and project requirements. In this blog post, we discussed a simple method to determine the Python version in your Jupyter notebook by using the built-in sys module.

By following this method, you can ensure that your Jupyter notebook environment meets the requirements for your data science projects and avoid potential issues related to Python version mismatches.

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