Appendix A2: Using VS Code

This appendix assumes you’ve completed Part 0 — Python installed, .venv created and active, packages installed. Everything below is specific to working in VS Code instead of a plain terminal.

Install VS Code

Download it from code.visualstudio.com and run the installer for your operating system — no special options needed.

Install the Python extension

VS Code doesn’t understand Python out of the box; a small add-on teaches it to. Open VS Code, click the square-icon Extensions tab in the left sidebar, search for Python (published by Microsoft), and click Install.

Open the project folder

Use File → Open Folder… and select the ddr-rag-book folder you created in Part 0. VS Code will use this as its workspace — every file in the sidebar is now part of this project.

Select the interpreter

Engineering Translation: Interpreter

An interpreter is simply which copy of Python VS Code should run your code with. You want it pointed at the .venv toolbox from Part 0, not some other Python installation on your machine.

Press Cmd+Shift+P (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) to open the command palette, type Python: Select Interpreter, and choose the one showing a path ending in .venv/bin/python (Mac/Linux) or .venv\Scripts\python.exe (Windows). If you don’t see it listed, click “Enter interpreter path” and browse to that file directly.

Open a terminal

Use Terminal → New Terminal from the top menu. VS Code opens a terminal already positioned inside your project folder — and if you selected the right interpreter above, it should already show (.venv) at the start of the prompt.

Run a script

Either:

Type the command directly into the terminal you just opened, e.g.:

python code/chapter_01/read_ddr.py datasets/sample_ddrs/FORGE-16A-78-32_Drilling_038_2020-11-26.pdf

Or open the .py file in the editor and click the Run (▶) button in the top-right corner — VS Code runs it in an integrated terminal for you.

Both produce identical output — use whichever feels more natural.