Suggestions for installing jupyter notebook extensions on syzygy?

[firasm]

Hello!

I'm really enjoying teaching with syzygy here at UBC but there are a couple of things that would really make my job easier.

1. Is it possible to install a jupyter notebook extensions system-wide so I don't have to ask my (novice) students to do it? The one that I most miss is the splitcell extension found here. It's super useful for teaching. So is jupyter-themes .

When enabled it allows for side-by-side cells:

But when I send them my notebooks using nbgitpuller (btw, such a great tool), they see the traditional linear arrangement:

I can get them to install the extension, but it's an extra few steps. If we can't add this extension globally, what is the recommended installation method? Should I include a python or bash script in my repo and in the first few lines run it via the jupyter notebook?

Appreciate any thoughts or ideas - apologies if this isn't the right repo for this. Happy to close and repost elsewhere.

I know every time there's a request for a package/software to be installed, it takes extra maintenance and there's always the danger it may cause things to break.

[ianabc]

Hi @firasim,

Thank you for the suggestions and for using the service! I can take a look at the extension. We're normally quite restrictive about which extensions we add system wide because we share the image with other *.syzygy.ca machines. I can take a look at updating the image and installing the extension when the current crop of classes finish (next week I think). I'll keep this issue open until them.

-Ian

[firasm]

Thanks!

I agree it's prudent to be restrictive about extensions.

Perhaps at some (later) point, it might be worth building in functionality to activate or run an environment file using nbgitpuller (that lives in the GitHub repo of the person creating the URL).

virtualenv or conda environments might be easiest!

[firasm]

hi @ianabc - just wanted to ping you quickly to see if you still intend to install the splitcell extension for everyone on syzygy ?