Technical prerequisites

Before we begin working with R, Python, and Quarto in Advanced Empirical Finance, please set up your computer so that you can run code from day one. No prior experience with programming or development tools is required — this guide walks you through everything step by step. Should you encounter any issues, please do not hesitate to contact your TAs or me for assistance. To facilitate collaboration, please ask me via the Absalon discussion board to make sure everyone can benefit from the solution.

Prerequisites

Install the required software

Install R (Version > 4.5.0). R is one of the two programming languages we use in this course. Choose the installer for your operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux) and follow the default installation settings.
Install Python (Version > 3.11.0). Python is the second programming language we use. During installation on Windows, make sure to check “Add Python to PATH” if prompted.
Install Positron (latest Version). Positron is the integrated development environment (IDE) we use. It supports R, Python, Git, and Quarto in one place. Install Positron using the default settings.
Register a free GitHub account GitHub allows us to share course materials and collaborate. You can register on (https://github.com/).
Install Git. Git is the version control system we use to connect to GitHub.

Set Up the Course Repository

Configure Git in Positron:
- Open Positron, open the source control view (Ctrl+Shift+G). If Git is not yet installed, the Source Control view will show instructions on how to install it
- Once Git is detected you can clone the course Github repository by opening the source control view (Ctrl+Shift+G) and clicking Clone Repository. Then, you provide the course repository url https://github.com/advanced-empirical-finance/course-repository.git and choose a local folder where the repository should be stored. Cloning a repository simply means creating your own copy of a shared project so you can work on it on your computer without affecting the original.
Open the cloned repository in Positron by navigating to File -> Open Project and selecting the folder where you cloned the repository. The folder contains all course materials, including R and Python scripts, datasets, lecture slides, templates for the mandatory assignment and configuration files for R and Python environments.

Install Required R and Python Packages

In R we use renv to ensure all students have the same package versions. To install all required R packages for the course, open the Console (not the Terminal) in Positron and install the renv package by typing the commands
```
 install.packages("renv")
 renv::restore()
```
You can install new packages, e.g., by calling install.packages("tidymodels"). To collaborate with your peers, just run renv::snapshot() to keep track of all the packages you use, and share the renv.lock file. Your colleagues only have to run renv::restore() to replicate your exact R package environment.
To verify that the R installation is working correctly, click on New/New File and select R file to open a new R script in Positron and type
```
 library(tidyfinance)
 download_data(
         type="stock_prices", 
         symbols="AAPL",
         start_date="2000-01-01", 
           end_date="2023-12-31")
```
Mark everything and press Ctrl + Enter to run the code. If everything is working correctly, you should see that you just downloaded financial data in the console.
For Python we use uv, a fast Python package manager. To install all required Python packages for the course, open the Terminal (not the Console) in Positron, install uv, e.g., via pip install uv and type the command
```
uv sync
```
To verify that everything is working correctly, click on New/New File and select Python file to open a new Python script in Positron and type
```
import tidyfinance as tf
tf.download_data(
        domain="stock_prices", 
        symbols="AAPL",
        start_date="2000-01-01", 
          end_date="2023-12-31")
```
Mark everything and press Ctrl + Enter to run the code. If everything is working correctly, you should see that you just downloaded financial data in the console. If you receive an error you may have to activate the correct virtual environment first by clicking on the Icon on the top right (next to course-repository) and selecting the environment named aef-2026.

Optional: Quarto and PDF support

Positron already includes Quarto, so you do not need to install it separately unless you want a standalone installation.

Install the newest version of Quarto. (Quarto comes prebundled with Positron, so you will have access to quarto once you have followed the previous step)
In order to create PDFs you will need to install a recent distribution of LaTeX. I recommend to install TinyTeX, a lightweight, cross-platform, portable, and easy-to-maintain LaTeX distribution by typing the command
```
   quarto install tool tinytex
```

in Positron / Terminal or directly in the console