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Python for SPSS – What is It?

Serious SPSS users have probably heard that using Python in SPSS can dramatically speed up
your daily SPSS tasks.
So what is it and how does it work? This brief tutorial quickly walks you through.

Introduction

Python is one of the main general programming languages today and was first launched in 1989.

Python Logo

SPSS -short for “statistical package for the social sciences”- is user friendly software for data editing/analysis and statistical procedures. SPSS is much older than Python: it's already been in use since 1968. Originally, Python had nothing whatsoever to do with SPSS. They were simply 2 completely unrelated software packages until roughly 2005.

So How does Python relate to SPSS?

Around 2005, the SPSS developers created software that connects SPSS with Python: the SPSS-Python plugin. This plugin made it possible to

The figure below sketches some of such interactions between SPSS and Python.

Overview SPSS Python Interactions

What Is Python Known For?

Why Should I Use Python in SPSS?

SPSS Python - Shorter Syntax Which Approach Looks Better to You?

Where Can I Get Python for SPSS?

Finally an easy question... Recent SPSS versions are integrated with Python by default. It is located in the Python3 folder in your SPSS installation folder as shown below.

Ss Python 3 Folder In SPSS Folder

For more details on this, read up on Python for SPSS - How to Use It?

Which are Some SPSS Python Examples?

Some excellent SPSS-Python code is found in many of our SPSS tools:

SPSS Create All Scatterplots Tool Dialog 2 Example tool that uses Python for SPSS

Note: when using these tools, you don't immediately see the underlying Python code. However, if you unzip the SPSS extension (.spe) files, you'll find that each of them contains a Python (.py) file that contains the SPSS-Python code being used.

Thanks for reading!

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