Using Google Colab

If you have access to Google Colab, you can click the “Open in Colab” button at the top of each page to launch it in an interactive environment where you can write and run code. Please note that we recommend JupyterHub if you can access it.

Advice for using Colab

• Make a local copy to your Drive: otherwise changes you make (e.g. notes you take, code you write, etc) will not be saved

• Do not edit the same colab directly as a group. Unlike Google Docs, one person’s version will overwrite another’s. If your browser happens to be open, it can overwrite anything that has been done by others since the last version in your browser!

• Colab does not have version control! Use git for this if you want to collaborate (on a group project colab for example)

• If you wish to work collaboratively in a single colab notebook, make sure to take advantage of its revision history: File -> Revision history. While the gold standard for version control is git, colab offers an easy alternative to those not familiar with git.

  • You can rename and revert to specific previous versions of the notebook by clicking on the three dots next your preferred revision in Revision history.

  • Note that old revisions get removed! To maintain a saved version over an extended period of time, use File -> Save and pin revision.

To learn the basics of Colab, please check out this Colab notebook: https://colab.research.google.com/notebooks/intro.ipynb