.. PyPsyExp documentation master file, created by sphinx-quickstart on Tue Apr 12 20:56:22 2011. You can adapt this file completely to your liking, but it should at least contain the root `toctree` directive. What is PyPsyExp? ==================================== PyPsyExp is a user-friendly and cross-platform library for developing psychology experiments using `Python `_, `Pygame `_ and `NumPy `_. While (currently) not as full featured as something like `VisionEgg `_ or the `Psychophysics toolbox `_, our objective is to provide a clean and simple toolkit that may be exactly what you are looking for if you need a straightforward way to design a higher-level cognition experiment. What does "higher-level" mean? It means you need a way to design simple interactive experiments that involve presenting information on a computer screen (but don't need millisecond accuracy on display refreshes) and measuring a participant's responses and reaction time. Features ------------ * Several input methods, such as mouse buttons and text boxes. * Automatic counterbalancing and data recording, across computers and even labs via FTP. * Complete cross-platform support; the same code should run on Windows, Macs, and UNIX machines. * Entirely free and open source. Free to extend in any way you want. Quick setup ==================================== Dependencies ------------ To use pypsyexp. you'll need * `Python 2.x `_: A powerful scripting language summarized `here `_ * `NumPy `_: A package for numerical computation in Python. * `PyGame `_: A Python wrapper for `libsdl `_, an open source multimedia library. It has its own dependencies. Instructions for getting it working on a Macintosh can be found `here `_. Download -------- We keep the latest versions of our code publically accessible in a subversion repository, located at https://compcog.svn.beanstalkapp.com/pypsyexp/trunk. If you have never used pygame before, we recommend you begin by installing pygame along with a simple stroop task, which serves as a demonstration of how pypsyexp works:: svn co https://compcog.svn.beanstalkapp.com/pypsyexp/trunk/demos/stroop pypsyexp_demo ...which will check out the demo to the folder ``pypsyexp_demo``. If you are already familiar with the library and simply want to check out the latest version, this will check out the library alone:: svn co https://compcog.svn.beanstalkapp.com/pypsyexp/trunk/lib/ Experiment design ----------------- The actual pypsyexp library is in the ``lib/`` directory. In ``stroop_new.py`` is an experiment file that loads in the library and runs an experiment that is designed to replicate the classic Stroop effect. The file follows a structure we would recommend, defining a class called ``StroopExperiment`` which extends the ``Experiment`` class defined in the ``pypsyexp`` library. To build your own experiment, you can simply alter this file to suit your needs. For more information, check out our tutorial on the Stroop experiment `here `_. Documentation ============= Documentation for the classes and functions in pygame can be found here: .. toctree:: :maxdepth: 2 pypsyexp Tutorials Contact info ============= We now have an online community for discussing bugs, issues, and features of the pypsyexp system! Come join the discussion at `get satisfaction `_. .. image:: http://getsatisfaction.com/images/badges/badge_logo_small.png :target: http://getsatisfaction.com/pypsyexp :alt: Badge_logo_small :align: right .. Indices and tables ================== * :ref:`genindex` * :ref:`modindex` * :ref:`search` .. vi: set sw=4 ts=4