Your first
working window.

1. Get the tools and code

Install 64-bit Python 3.13 for the book’s Windows setup. Use PyCharm as described in the book, or another editor. Download and extract the full companion ZIP before running files.

Open the extracted Matrix_Thinking-main folder as your project. Keep the resource folders with the programs.

2. Use a project environment

In PyCharm, select a project-specific virtual environment using Python 3.13. In its terminal, from the repository root, install:

python -m pip install -r getting_started/requirements.txt

py -3.13 -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install -r getting_started/requirements.txt
.venv\Scripts\python.exe getting_started/hello.py
.venv\Scripts\python.exe getting_started/check_libraries.py
.venv\Scripts\python.exe getting_started/check_window.py

python3.13 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/python -m pip install -r getting_started/requirements.txt
.venv/bin/python getting_started/hello.py
.venv/bin/python getting_started/check_libraries.py
.venv/bin/python getting_started/check_window.py

3. Run the checks in order

1. hello.py prints a greeting, 5, and the literal text 2 + 3.
2. check_libraries.py checks the imports.
3. check_window.py prints a 2×3 array and opens a blue window. Close the window to finish.

In PyCharm, open each file in getting_started/ and run it with the project interpreter.

If something goes wrong

ModuleNotFoundError

Install the requirements into the same interpreter that runs your file. Use that interpreter’s -m pip.

Python cannot be found

On Windows, check py -3.13 --version. In PyCharm, select the interpreter explicitly.

A resource is missing

Extract the whole repository. Follow the module README’s working directory and launch command.

4. Follow the modules

Run each listing separately. Steps are complete intermediate programs, not fragments to concatenate. Try exercises before reading their solutions.