.. currentmodule:: brian

Tutorials for Python and Scipy
==============================

Python
------

The first thing to do in learning how to use Brian
is to have a basic grasp of the Python programming language.
There are lots of good tutorials already out there. The best one is probably
`the official Python tutorial
<http://docs.python.org/tut/>`__. 
There is also a course for biologists at the Pasteur Institute:
`Introduction to programming using Python <http://www.pasteur.fr/formation/infobio/python/>`__.

NumPy, SciPy and Pylab
----------------------
The first place to look is the `SciPy documentation website
<http://docs.scipy.org/doc/>`__. To start using Brian, you do not need
to understand much about how NumPy and SciPy work, although understanding how their
array structures work will be useful for more advanced uses of Brian.

The syntax of the Numpy and Pylab functions is very similar to Matlab.
If you already know Matlab, you could read this tutorial:
`NumPy for Matlab users <http://scipy.org/NumPy_for_Matlab_Users>`__
and this list of `Matlab-Python translations <http://mathesaurus.sourceforge.net/>`__
(`pdf version here <http://brian.di.ens.fr/matlab-python-xref.pdf>`__).
A `tutorial <http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/users/pyplot_tutorial.html>`__ is also available on
the web site of Pylab.
