I'm looking to learn Python using a college library PC since I don't have a laptop yet. The catch is, I don't have admin rights, so I can't install software in the usual way. I prefer not to use online compilers because I'm looking for a proper setup, ideally with Visual Studio Code. Does anyone have any suggestions or tricks to get around this?
3 Answers
Another option is to rent a cheap Virtual Private Server (VPS), which usually goes for about $3 per month. You can set up Python on there and access it through remote development in VS Code. Alternatively, consider WinPython—it’s another portable option that might work for you.
You can check out the portable version of Visual Studio Code. It's designed to work without installation, as long as you have it saved on a USB drive or in a location with write access on your college PC. Pair it with Portable Python from portablepython.com, and you should be good to go! Just extract these to your USB or a folder where you have permissions.
If you're really stuck with what you can do, it might be worth checking if there’s a virtual machine setup on the library PCs. If they have something like VirtualBox installed, you can create your own virtual instance. Otherwise, think about cloud options like Amazon EC2, though those can get pricey over time. A Raspberry Pi could also be a fun solution—it doesn’t need admin rights to set up remote access, and once it's running, you can connect and code away, just use a minimal setup initially.
You actually don’t need a monitor to set up a Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi Imager allows you to configure everything, including network settings, before booting it up. You just prepare the SD card and it’ll be good to go!