Dependencies, Holopy

Ok, so the software I most want to be comfortable with installing is Holopy. It is the software that my research lab wrote and maintains--- I'm a coauthor, but I still struggle with installation. So frustrating. The software is hosted on launchpad:

https://launchpad.net/holopy

And there is a manual here:

http://manoharan.seas.harvard.edu/holopy/

So, what do I need?
Python 2.7
numpy
scipy
PyYAML (3.10 is the current release)
ipython (0.13.1 is the current stable release)
matplotlib (1.2.1 is the current stable release)
mayavi2 (4.2.0 is the latest)

What do I have?
python --version
Python 2.7.3
good

python
import numpy
numpy.version.version
'1.6.1'
ok, but I'd rather have 1.7 for the enhanced polyfit that allows weights
1.7 is listed as a stable release, so I will try to update to that

python
import scipy
ImportError: No module named scipy

First, trying the line recommended from the manual:
sudo apt-get install python-scipy ipython python-matplotlib python-yaml mayavi2

Great, this fixed the scipy problem
python
import scipy
scipy.version.version
'0.9.0'
0.11 is the most recent stable version, but I think 0.9.0 should be fine

What about PyYAML?
python
import yaml
yaml .__version__
'3.10'
Great.

What about ipython?
ipython
returns IPython 0.12.1 along with some warnings about my configuration file. I should look into this sometime. This is an ok version to use I think.

What about matplotlib?
ipython
import matplotlib
matplotlib .__version__
'1.1.1rc'
Hm. This is a couple versions out of date. I should think about updating this.

What about mayavi?
ipython
import mayavi
mayavi .__version__
'4.0.0'
Hm. IS that good or not? Is that Mayavi or Mayavi2?
pip search mayavi
mayavi INSTALLED: 4.0.0
LATEST: 4.2.0
Ok... but is that Mayavi2 or not?
aptitude search mayavi
mayavi2
Ok, so Mayavi2 is the only version installed, so I guess Mayavi 4.0.0 is really a type of Mayavi2. You can also test Mayavi2 by typing
Mayavi2
from a terminal.
This pops up a window for me, but the colors make all the titles unreadable. Hrm. I can't see how to fix this. Annoying.

This packages a lot of these all together... for future reference and installing on a blank computer:
http://www.enthought.com/products/epd.php

Numpy is still lower than the version I want though. How do I upgrade to 1.7? I'm going to find out!
cd ./tmp
sudo pip install --upgrade numpy

python
import numpy
numpy.version.version
'1.7.0'
Great!

Ok, so the dependencies are all in place. My understanding is that you also need compilers if you want to use the code straight from launchpad. If you want to contribute code to launchpad, then you need a way of authenticating yourself. Those steps for later. For today, the dependencies are in place!