Installation

This guide provides instructions on how to install and set up the Iowa Liquor Sales Forecast project.

Requirements

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Python 3.9 or higher

• Google Cloud SDK (gcloud) installed and configured

• Docker (for containerized environments)

• Git (for cloning the repository)

Python Dependencies

The project requires several Python packages to run. These dependencies are listed in the requirements.txt file.

To install these dependencies, you can use pip:

`bash pip install -r requirements.txt `

Google Cloud Setup

This project utilizes Google Cloud BigQuery for data storage and retrieval. Follow these steps to set up your Google Cloud environment:

1. Create a Google Cloud Project:

   • Go to the Google Cloud Console.

   • Create a new project or select an existing one.

2. Enable the BigQuery API:

   • Navigate to BigQuery API and enable it for your project.

3. Set up Authentication:

   • Navigate to IAM Service Accounts and create a service account in your project.

   • In the projects service accounts page, click on the service account you’ve created and then navigate to the “Keys” tab.

   • Select the option “ADD KEY” followed by “Create New Key”.

   • Choose JSON “Key type” and click the “Create” button to download the JSON key file

   • Set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to the path of this file:

   export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/path/to/your/service-account-file.json"
   

4. Create a BigQuery Dataset:

   • In the BigQuery console, create a new dataset where the data and models will be stored.

Docker Setup (Optional)

If you prefer to run the project in a Docker container to ensure a consistent environment, follow these steps:

1. Build the Docker Image:

   In the root directory of the project, run:

   docker build -t iowa-liquor-sales-forecast .
   

2. Run the Docker Container:

   Start the container with:

   docker run -it --rm -e GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/path/to/your/service-account-file.json" \
   -v $(pwd):/app iowa-liquor-sales-forecast
   

   Replace /path/to/your/service-account-file.json with the actual path to your credentials file. The -v $(pwd):/app option mounts the current directory inside the container.

Running the Project

Once all dependencies are installed and your environment is set up, you can start using the project. Here’s how:

1. Clone the Repository:

   If you haven’t already, clone the project repository:

   git clone https://github.com/erik-ingwersen-ey/iowa-liquor-sales-forecast.git
   cd iowa-liquor-sales-forecast
   

2. Run the Pipeline Script:

   Execute the train_model_and_forecast_sales.py script to train the models and start generating forecasts:

   python pipelines/train_model_and_forecast_sales.py
   

   Attention

   Make sure your environment variables are set correctly before running the script.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues during installation or setup, here are some common solutions:

• Missing Python Packages:

  • Ensure that all dependencies are installed via pip install -r requirements.txt.

• Google Cloud Authentication Errors:

  • Verify that the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable is correctly set and points to the valid JSON key file.

• Docker Issues:

  • Ensure Docker is running and your system has enough resources allocated to Docker.

For further assistance, refer to the project’s documentation.