NumPy is based on Python, so it is required to have Python installed. On some operating systems, Python is already installed. You, however, need to check whether the Python version is compatible with the NumPy version you want to install. There are many implementations of Python, including commercial implementations and distributions. In this book, we will focus on the standard CPython implementation, which is guaranteed to be compatible with NumPy.

NumPy has binary installers for Windows, various Linux distributions, and Mac OS X. There is also a source distribution, if you prefer that. You need to have Python 2.4.x or above installed on your system. Python 2.7.6 is currently the best Python version to have because most scientific Python libraries support it.