Using lifelib with Spyder ========================== `Spyder`_ is a popular scientific Python IDE, and it's bundled in with WinPython by default. **Spyder plugin for modelx** adds widgets to Spyder, which enable you to graphically interface with lifelib models and to develop, run and analyze the models more efficiently. .. _Spyder: https://www.spyder-ide.org/ Starting Spyder ---------------- To launch Spyder, go to the unzipped folder, and run *Spyder.exe* by double-clicking it. If you're using *Anaconda*, you should be able to launch Spyder from Windows menu. .. _read-a-model: Reading a Model ---------------- The created folder contains folders whose names start with *model_*. Those are model folders. By reading a model folder into an IPython session, a live *Model* object is created. For example, the :doc:`BasicTerm_S` model in :mod:`basiclife` is saved as a folder named *BasicTerm_S*. To read the model, start an *MxConsole* session by right-clicking on *Console 1/A* tab and select *New MxConsole*. Next, right-click on the blank space in MxExplorer to bring up a context menu. Select *Read Model* item from the menu. .. figure:: /images/spyder_plugin/MxExplorerContextMenu.png *MxExplorer*'s context menu Click the folder icon next to the text box at the top, select the *BasicTerm_S* folder in the created folder then click *OK*. After model is read successfully, the components of the model appear as a tree in the MxExplorer. The top item in the tree is *Projection*, and it represents the *Projection* Space in the model. The space object contains child objects. Double-click on *Projection* to expand it and show *Projection*'s child objects. .. figure:: /images/spyder_plugin/BasicTermInMxExplorer.png *MxExplorer* showing *Projection* and its child objects Importing Names ---------------- In the *MxConsole*, the model is defined as a variable named `BasicTerm_S` as you see in the *Variable Explorer* widget, so typing `BasicTerm_S` in the *MxConsole* returns the model:: >>> BasicTerm_S *Projection*, and its child objects are not defined in the *MxConsole*, and they can be retrieved as the attributes of their parents:: >>> BasicTerm_S.Projection >>> BasicTerm_S.Projection.model_point Auto-completion works in the *MxConsole*, so type the first couple of characters then hit Tab to complete the remainder. To access these objects more quickly, you can define variables that refer to the objects. There is a way to define variables for a Space and all of its child objects at once. In *MxExplorer*, select *Projection* in the object tree, and right-click to show the context menu, and select *Import Names* from the menu. The dialog box below shows up. Click *OK*. .. figure:: /images/spyder_plugin/ImportNames.png *Import Names* dialog box Now, you see the *Projection* space and all the child object in the space are defined as global variables in the *MxConsole* as you see in the *Variable Explorer*. .. figure:: /images/spyder_plugin/VariableExplorer.png *Variable Explorer* showing defined global variables Calculating Values ------------------ Most of the child objects are *Cells* object. A Cells acts like a function, but instead of always calculating the value for the same arguments, it calculates the value for the same arguments only once, and keep the returned value until the Cells needs to be refreshed. The calculation logic of a Cells is defined by a Python function as a *Formula* object. To calculate the value of a Cells for certain arguments, simply call the Cells with the arguments:: >>> claims(0) 34.18079328868595 In the *BasicTerm_S* model, the ``result_cf`` Cells returns the projected cashflow result of a selected model point as a DataFrame object. It does not take any arguments:: >>> result_cf() Premiums Claims Expenses Commissions Net Cashflow 0 94.840000 34.180793 300.000000 94.840000 -334.180793 1 94.005734 33.880120 4.956017 94.005734 -38.836137 2 93.178806 33.582091 4.912421 93.178806 -38.494512 3 92.359153 33.286684 4.869209 92.359153 -38.155893 4 91.546710 32.993876 4.826377 91.546710 -37.820252 .. ... ... ... ... ... 116 62.432465 63.534771 3.599824 0.000000 -4.702130 117 62.317757 63.418038 3.593210 0.000000 -4.693491 118 62.203260 63.301519 3.586608 0.000000 -4.684868 119 62.088973 63.185215 3.580019 0.000000 -4.676260 120 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 [121 rows x 5 columns] The ``result_pv`` Cells returns a DataFrame that shows the present values of the cashflows and their percentages to the present value of premiums:: >>> result_pv() Premiums Claims Expenses Commissions Net Cashflow PV 8251.931435 5501.074678 748.303591 1084.601434 917.951731 % Premium 1.000000 0.666641 0.090682 0.131436 0.111241 Viewing Values --------------- The *MxDataViewer* widget is useful for viewing values contained in Cells and Reference objects, especially when they hold vector or tabular data, such as pandas Series, DataFrames and numpy arrays. For example, to view the values of ``result_cf``, double-click on ``result_cf`` in *MxExplorer* to show *BasicTerm_S.Projection.result_cf* at the top of *MxDataViewer*, then click *Update*. .. figure:: /images/spyder_plugin/result_cf_InMxDataViewer.png *MxDataViewer* showing ``result_cf`` Tracing Calculations --------------------- The *MxAnalyzer* widget is useful for tracing values and formulas used for calculating a value of a specific Cells. For example, to trace the calculations of ``result_cf``, select ``result_cf`` in *MxExplorer* and right-click to bring up the context menu, then from the menu select *Analyzer Selected*. .. figure:: /images/spyder_plugin/tracecalc_MxAnalyzer.png *MxAnalyzer* showing the dependency tree of ``result_cf``