# New to Julia

**URL:** https://discourse.julialang.org/c/first-steps/8.md

[Latest](https://discourse.julialang.org/latest.md) · [Categories](https://discourse.julialang.org/categories.md) · [Tags](https://discourse.julialang.org/tags.md)

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## [About the New to Julia category](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/about-the-new-to-julia-category/19)

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**Author:** [@system](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/system)\
**Replies:** 0\
**Last updated:** [October 19, 2016, 4:48am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/about-the-new-to-julia-category/19 "2016-10-19T04:48:47Z")

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Everybody is new to Julia at some point. Whether you are struggling with the installation or you just can’t figure out why you are not seeing the performance everybody else seems to be talking about, this is the place to…

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## [Shortening lengthy code](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/shortening-lengthy-code/139627)

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**Author:** [@omgplshelp](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/omgplshelp)\
**Replies:** 3\
**Last updated:** [September 23, 2026, 9:05pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/shortening-lengthy-code/139627 "2026-09-23T21:05:56Z")

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Hello, I am trying to perform a linear regression for two separate layers using the same variables. Right now, I have written everything twice, once for layer one and once for layer two. Is there an easy way to simplify …

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## [Generating an unstructured triangle grid](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-an-unstructured-triangle-grid/138784)

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**Author:** [@omgplshelp](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/omgplshelp)\
**Replies:** 6\
**Last updated:** [September 22, 2026, 1:10pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/generating-an-unstructured-triangle-grid/138784 "2026-09-22T13:10:08Z")

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Hi, I’m trying to generate an unstructured triangle grid with an area constraint for data defined on irregular polygonal domains. I have coordinate data for the boundaries of two polygons respectively and for measuring p…

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## [Julia 1.13 - precompilation error for LibCURL since update](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/julia-1-13-precompilation-error-for-libcurl-since-update/139336)

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**Author:** [@shrdlu](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/shrdlu)\
**Replies:** 9\
**Last updated:** [September 19, 2026, 3:09pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/julia-1-13-precompilation-error-for-libcurl-since-update/139336 "2026-09-19T15:09:39Z")

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I just updated one of my systems to Julia 1.13, and am looking at a peculiar error when I try to load and upgrade some of my global environments. So, my setup is using some variation of below shell script to automate so…

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## [Interactive development in Julia compared to \[Common\] Lisp?](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/interactive-development-in-julia-compared-to-common-lisp/139494)

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**Author:** [@farooqkz](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/farooqkz)\
**Replies:** 10\
**Last updated:** [September 17, 2026, 6:58am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/interactive-development-in-julia-compared-to-common-lisp/139494 "2026-09-17T06:58:03Z")

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Hello Hello. I am looking for a programming language for some R&D work in the field of Evolutionary Computation and AI. Interactive development in Common Lisp comes very handy when you are designing algorithms or exper…

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## [Pluto installation fails](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/pluto-installation-fails/139166)

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**Author:** [@jacquesb](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jacquesb)\
**Replies:** 5\
**Last updated:** [September 14, 2026, 5:32pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/pluto-installation-fails/139166 "2026-09-14T17:32:27Z")

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Installing pluto faills. I just installed julia Version 1.12.7 (2026-08-15), on Linux antarctic 6.12.101+deb13-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT\_DYNAMIC Debian 6.12.101-1 (2026-08-05) x86\_64 GNU/Linux. That works fine. The first …

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## [Using pre-sorted data and renaming the factor label at the same time](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/using-pre-sorted-data-and-renaming-the-factor-label-at-the-same-time/139460)

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**Author:** [@mahmah](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mahmah)\
**Replies:** 1\
**Last updated:** [September 14, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/using-pre-sorted-data-and-renaming-the-factor-label-at-the-same-time/139460 "2026-09-14T13:51:34Z")

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I’d like to do what the title says, i.e. this: spec = data(df) \* mapping(:countries =\> presorted, :some\_value, color = :group) \* visual(BarPlot, direction = :x) fg = draw(spec) while renaming the factor label t…

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## [How does BinaryBuilder work?](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-does-binarybuilder-work/139411)

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**Author:** [@obsidianjulua](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/obsidianjulua)\
**Replies:** 3\
**Last updated:** [September 13, 2026, 10:27am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/how-does-binarybuilder-work/139411 "2026-09-13T10:27:32Z")

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Can BinaryBuilder.jl deploy its toolchain building and vm locally and Id like to test building and deploying a jll locally and test vendoring it across another platform but im not sure if I need to CI push a deploy/recip…

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## [Meaning of "maybe" in function names and types](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/meaning-of-maybe-in-function-names-and-types/139317)

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**Author:** [@mark.garnett](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mark.garnett)\
**Replies:** 4\
**Last updated:** [September 11, 2026, 12:55am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/meaning-of-maybe-in-function-names-and-types/139317 "2026-09-11T00:55:17Z")

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Hi all, I often see the word “maybe” in function names especially in ModelingToolkit. for example “maybe\_build\_initialization\_problem()” or “MaybeArrayIndexT” Is this a common convention in Julia? What does it mean?

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## [AlgebraOfGraphics plots with error bars and different line styles](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/algebraofgraphics-plots-with-error-bars-and-different-line-styles/139325)

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**Author:** [@mahmah](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mahmah)\
**Replies:** 2\
**Last updated:** [September 10, 2026, 12:26pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/algebraofgraphics-plots-with-error-bars-and-different-line-styles/139325 "2026-09-10T12:26:23Z")

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I’m enjoying AlgebraOfGraphics a lot, thank you so much for this package. I have a problem though: I want to use visual(Errorbars) + visual(Lines) in a figure that also specifies LineStyle. I understand that LineStyle sh…

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## [Produce\_or\_load, how to use](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/produce-or-load-how-to-use/139227)

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**Author:** [@mahmah](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mahmah)\
**Replies:** 1\
**Last updated:** [September 6, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/produce-or-load-how-to-use/139227 "2026-09-06T18:17:10Z")

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First and foremost, I’d like to show appreciation for DrWatson. It is an excellent package and an important contribution to the scientific community. I am impressed by how useful it can be. That being said, I wished the…

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## [Pipeline question](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/pipeline-question/139130)

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**Author:** [@mahmah](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mahmah)\
**Replies:** 10\
**Last updated:** [September 3, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/pipeline-question/139130 "2026-09-03T18:12:12Z")

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Continuing the discussion from Structure and performance questions from a Fortran programmer: functions, global variables, array allocations, input files, and structs: Is this how you move stuff from place to place in e…

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## [Starting guide for Julia, coming from e.g. Python or C++](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/starting-guide-for-julia-coming-from-e-g-python-or-c/139139)

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**Author:** [@Palli](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Palli)\
**Replies:** 5\
**Last updated:** [September 3, 2026, 10:42am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/starting-guide-for-julia-coming-from-e-g-python-or-c/139139 "2026-09-03T10:42:15Z")

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AI answers are often unbelievably good, and I believe also for this topic: ChatGPT - Julia Dict Comparisons 21. A particularly important Python → Julia mapping I’m not new to Julia actually, I just though there should…

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## [Combine(groupby())](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/combine-groupby/139142)

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**Author:** [@mahmah](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mahmah)\
**Replies:** 8\
**Last updated:** [September 2, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/combine-groupby/139142 "2026-09-02T14:32:35Z")

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Is there a way to do this: c = combine(groupby(df, :A),:B =\> mean =\> :B\_mean) but in such a way that the output does not only show :A and :B\_mean but also the other variables that df had (well, at least the variables t…

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## [Reading large CSV files](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/reading-large-csv-files/139061)

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**Author:** [@mahmah](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mahmah)\
**Replies:** 9\
**Last updated:** [August 31, 2026, 11:56am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/reading-large-csv-files/139061 "2026-08-31T11:56:40Z")

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Hi, is there any way to read a 88 GB csv file into a DataFrame? It kills julia, even with the -t auto option. Thanks!

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## [Scaling arrow heads in quiver function](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/scaling-arrow-heads-in-quiver-function/139101)

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**Author:** [@Tjipke](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Tjipke)\
**Replies:** 2\
**Last updated:** [August 30, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/scaling-arrow-heads-in-quiver-function/139101 "2026-08-30T15:46:53Z")

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I am having trouble with creating nice flow plots for a velocity vector field. I try to use the quiver command but cannot find how to scale the arrow heads properly. Below a picture of the plot, I want to have the heads …

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## [Reading in Excel Data from GitHub](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/reading-in-excel-data-from-github/58055)

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**Author:** [@Michael\_Barmann](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Michael_Barmann)\
**Replies:** 9\
**Last updated:** [August 30, 2026, 8:01am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/reading-in-excel-data-from-github/58055 "2026-08-30T08:01:14Z")

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I am preparing a Minimal Reproducible Example which involves reading in some data contained in an Excel file. I’m trying to figure out the best way to make the data easily accessible for anyone who wants to run my code. …

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## [Writing to large excel file (.xlsm) using XLSX](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/writing-to-large-excel-file-xlsm-using-xlsx/60094)

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**Author:** [@yogi1](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/yogi1)\
**Replies:** 2\
**Last updated:** [August 29, 2026, 8:56pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/writing-to-large-excel-file-xlsm-using-xlsx/60094 "2026-08-29T20:56:04Z")

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Hi all, I’m trying to pass a dataframe to a large xlsm file (80mbs). The code I’m using is as follows: using XLSX, DataFrames XLSX.openxlsx("xlsm\_file.xlsm", mode ="rw" ) do xf # pass through the dataframe, df …

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## [Using Commands from Pluto](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/using-commands-from-pluto/138964)

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**Author:** [@haroldnick0](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/haroldnick0)\
**Replies:** 3\
**Last updated:** [August 25, 2026, 8:10am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/using-commands-from-pluto/138964 "2026-08-25T08:10:00Z")

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Is it possible to use external operating system commands from Pluto to automate the fossil add harold/tiddlers/\* step, so that only the final commit has to be done manually from the console?

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## [Curl fails on macos](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/curl-fails-on-macos/138773)

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**Author:** [@cellocgw](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/cellocgw)\
**Replies:** 2\
**Last updated:** [August 13, 2026, 11:34am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/curl-fails-on-macos/138773 "2026-08-13T11:34:14Z")

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sequoia 15.7.4, iMac M4 copied from the download page, to wit curl -fsSL https://install.julialang.org | sh Failed, with error notes as follows dyld\[52867\]: Symbol not found: \_libiconv Referenced from: \<231C6CCA-44…

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## [A strange error](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/a-strange-error/138756)

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**Author:** [@9herbert9](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/9herbert9)\
**Replies:** 4\
**Last updated:** [August 12, 2026, 9:08pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/a-strange-error/138756 "2026-08-12T21:08:13Z")

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a simple program: ss=0 println(ss," \<\<\<\<\<\<\<\< “) for k in 3:2:20 print(k,” “) ss=ss+k println(ss,” ") end … creates no solution, but this error: ┌ Warning: Assignment to ss in soft scope is ambiguous because a gl…

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## [Union!() seems to be type-unstable, is this by design?](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/union-seems-to-be-type-unstable-is-this-by-design/138747)

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**Author:** [@Henri\_Laurie](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Henri_Laurie)\
**Replies:** 4\
**Last updated:** [August 11, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/union-seems-to-be-type-unstable-is-this-by-design/138747 "2026-08-11T17:45:55Z")

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I’m not new to Julia, but am new to using Sets. The following MWE puzzles me (the autosearch for related topics reference some 2017 queries which aren’t relevant, AFAICS): julia\> x = Set((1,2)); y = Set(('a', 'b')); uni…

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## [Extracting specific months of multiple years in DataFrames](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/extracting-specific-months-of-multiple-years-in-dataframes/138707)

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**Author:** [@omgplshelp](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/omgplshelp)\
**Replies:** 4\
**Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 1:16pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/extracting-specific-months-of-multiple-years-in-dataframes/138707 "2026-08-10T13:16:33Z")

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Hello, I have a DataFrame with weather data for every day over a span of 10 years. I’m trying to calculate the monthly average temperature for the month of June of each year, so that I end up with 10 temperature values I…

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## [Slow compilation times due to Low RAM available on machine](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/slow-compilation-times-due-to-low-ram-available-on-machine/138696)

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**Author:** [@Tech\_Monk](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Tech_Monk)\
**Replies:** 2\
**Last updated:** [August 10, 2026, 6:20am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/slow-compilation-times-due-to-low-ram-available-on-machine/138696 "2026-08-10T06:20:08Z")

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Each time I build julia with make -j4 it takes excruciatingly long.. Is there any solution to make this faster, each compile takes an hour or so..

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## [Julia kernel doesn't load in Jupyter Notebook - First installation](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/julia-kernel-doesnt-load-in-jupyter-notebook-first-installation/138644)

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**Author:** [@TheoJN](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/TheoJN)\
**Replies:** 10\
**Last updated:** [August 7, 2026, 12:24am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/julia-kernel-doesnt-load-in-jupyter-notebook-first-installation/138644 "2026-08-07T00:24:14Z")

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Hello everyone, I’m having issues trying to install Julia and IJulia for the first time. I wish to use a workshop on Jupyter notebooks, I have installed Julia, added IJulia, and changed my Jupyter environment path to th…

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## [Omniscape tutorial Error](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/omniscape-tutorial-error/93522)

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**Author:** [@anayana](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/anayana)\
**Replies:** 1\
**Last updated:** [August 3, 2026, 8:42am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/omniscape-tutorial-error/93522 "2026-08-03T08:42:07Z")

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Hallo, I do my first steps in Julia and try to reproduce the results of following tutorial: https://docs.circuitscape.org/Omniscape.jl/stable/examples/#Forest-connectivity-in-central-Maryland When I try to run Omnisca…

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## [Why Julia?](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/why-julia/136962)

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**Author:** [@PepeRoConde](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/PepeRoConde)\
**Replies:** 8\
**Last updated:** [August 2, 2026, 7:52pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/why-julia/136962 "2026-08-02T19:52:15Z")

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Hi! Im about to finish my undergraduate in AI. I basically learned Python there, except one subject that teached me Julia. After that i spent a lot of time with Julia, because it seemed just perfect: efficient and high …

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## [Customising Turing.jl sample progress bar](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/customising-turing-jl-sample-progress-bar/125110)

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**Author:** [@Sahil\_Khan](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Sahil_Khan)\
**Replies:** 3\
**Last updated:** [July 25, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/customising-turing-jl-sample-progress-bar/125110 "2026-07-25T17:51:36Z")

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Hello, I was wondering that can we customise sampling progressbar during inference by Turing.jl? sample(model, NUTS(1000, 0.65), MCMCThreads(), 10000, 3, progress = true) At the moment it shows progress after 1/3 sam…

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## [Creating a new distibution with Distributions.jl](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/creating-a-new-distibution-with-distributions-jl/138436)

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**Author:** [@dgagnon](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/dgagnon)\
**Replies:** 5\
**Last updated:** [July 24, 2026, 8:01pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/creating-a-new-distibution-with-distributions-jl/138436 "2026-07-24T20:01:05Z")

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Hello I am trying to create a new discrete distribution using the package Distributions.jl but I am getting error. I have tried with import instead of using but I always get the same message. using Distributions julia\> …

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## [Can't install DifferentialEquations](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/cant-install-differentialequations/138037)

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**Author:** [@Dozeze](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Dozeze)\
**Replies:** 10\
**Last updated:** [July 9, 2026, 11:48pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/cant-install-differentialequations/138037 "2026-07-09T23:48:34Z")

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Hello! I am new to Julia and want to learn coding with SciML.Followed the tutorial but got the following error: julia\> Pkg.add("DifferentialEquations") Updating registry at \`~/.julia/registries/General.toml\` Res…

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