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🧠 PyCharm Setup Guide for AFCCP

This guide walks you through setting up PyCharm for use with the Air Force Cadet Career Problem (AFCCP) project. It covers: - Opening the project - Setting up the Python interpreter - Creating a run configuration - Using the built-in terminal

🧰 1. Install PyCharm

If you haven't already:

📂 2. Open the Project Folder

  1. Open PyCharm.
  2. Click "Open" on the welcome screen.
  3. Navigate to the directory where you cloned the afccp repository (e.g., ~/Documents/Projects/afccp) and click Open.

📝 If you haven’t cloned the repository yet, do this from terminal first: 

git clone https://github.com/dglaird/afccp.git
cd afccp

🐍 3. Configure the Python Interpreter (Conda or VirtualEnv)

  1. Go to File > Settings > Project: afccp > Python Interpreter
  2. Click the ⚙️ icon (top-right) and choose Add...
  3. In the dialog:
  4. Select Conda Environment
  5. Choose:
    • Existing environment if you've already created one (e.g., via terminal): 
      conda create -n afccp python=3.8 -y
conda activate afccp
    • New environment if you want PyCharm to create it
  6. Set Python version to 3.8
  7. Click OK to save and apply the interpreter

✅ Once set, PyCharm will index your environment and show packages in the interpreter panel.

📦 4. Install Project Dependencies

Once your interpreter is set:

  1. Open the Terminal tab at the bottom of PyCharm
  2. Run:
pip install -r requirements.txt

This installs all packages required for AFCCP, including pyomo, pandas, mkdocs, and more.

▶️ 5. Create a Run Configuration

To quickly run the model script from inside PyCharm:

  1. Go to Run > Edit Configurations...
  2. Click the ➕ to add a new configuration
  3. Choose Python
  4. Set:
  5. Name: Run AFCCP
  6. Script path: afccp/example.py (use the file chooser)
  7. Python Interpreter: select the environment you just configured
  8. Click Apply and OK

Now you can run the model with the ▶️ button in the top-right corner.

🧪 6. (Optional) Add Test Configurations

If you have test files in tests/, create another Run Configuration:

  1. Add a new pytest configuration
  2. Point it to the tests/ directory
  3. Give it a name like Run Tests

Editor Settings

  • Enable soft wrap for Markdown and .py files:
    Preferences > Editor > General > Soft Wraps

Markdown Preview

  • Preferences > Languages & Frameworks > Markdown > Preview
    Choose "Preview with HTML and CSS"

Auto-save on Run

  • Preferences > Appearance & Behavior > System Settings > Save files on frame deactivation

🧠 You're Ready to Develop!

You now have a fully working setup in PyCharm: - Code highlighting and linting - Conda environment - One-click model execution - Markdown editing with preview - Git integration

Happy modeling!