Getting started with programming in oTree

For programming newbs:

• Don’t worry if you are new to Python. All things you need to know to get started are:
  • data types
    • especially, str, int, float, bool, list, dict
  • operators
    • algebraic: + (addition), - (subtraction), * (multiplication), / (division), // (quotient), % (modulus), ** (power)
    • comparison/logical: ==, !=, >, <, >=, <=, and, or, not
  • for loop
    • useful in repeating something (e.g., repeatedly calculating the payoff of group members). For example:

      players = [player1, player2, player3]
      for player in players:
          if player.winner == True:
              player.payoff = 100
          else:
              player.payoff = 0
    

  • functions
  • import-ing modules
  • random module
    • random.randint() or random.randrange(), random.random(), random.choice(), and random.choices() are most used methods.

• Additionally, you need to know some basic HTML tags: <img> (to include image to your experiment webpage), <p> (to write texts), <h1>, <h2>.. (headlines)

• Programming is like taking an exam with a cheatsheet and a tutor sitting next to you. You don’t need to memorize anything. The only skills you need to be a programmer are the ability to google what you don’t know and the ability to read error messages.

oTree documentation

• The latest oTree documentation gives all the information you need to know to program in oTree.

• Shortcut:

  (1) Follow Installing oTree -> Tutorial Part 1

  (2) Read through Conceptual overview -> Models, Pages, and Templates

  (3) Follow Tutorial Part 2 and Part 3 and search for whatever you don’t know comes up

Some tips

• Ask questions on oTree Forum

• Looking at demo codes will be helpful. You can even find codes of what you wanted to program.

• Debugging: when trying your oTree app locally, you can print variables/data to see if the program is working. You will see the output in the command line.

Last updated: October 12, 2022 by Seura Ha