chenshuo/dspfirst

★ 16MATLABAudience · researcherComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((dspfirst))
    Course topics
      Sinusoids
      Fourier series
      Z-transforms
      Filters
    Tech
      Python
      PyQt6
      NumPy and SciPy
    Origin
      MATLAB originals
      DSP First textbook
    Who it is for
      Students
      Instructors
    Setup
      Install 4 packages
      Run any script

mindmap root((dspfirst)) Course topics Sinusoids Fourier series Z-transforms Filters Tech Python PyQt6 NumPy and SciPy Origin MATLAB originals DSP First textbook Who it is for Students Instructors Setup Install 4 packages Run any script

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Run the 13 demos alongside the DSP First textbook to see sinusoids, filters, and spectrograms as interactive graphical windows.

USE CASE 2

Use these scripts as a free MATLAB alternative in a signals and systems course where MATLAB is not available.

USE CASE 3

Study the Python implementations to learn how SciPy and NumPy replicate standard DSP course calculations.

Tech stack

PythonPyQt6NumPySciPyMatplotlib

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Requires PyQt6, numpy, scipy, and matplotlib, no MATLAB needed.

In plain English

This repository takes interactive demo programs from a Georgia Tech digital signal processing course and rewrites them in Python. The originals ran in MATLAB, a paid technical computing environment common in engineering and science. The Python versions use free, open-source libraries: PyQt6 for graphical windows and controls, plus numpy, scipy, and matplotlib for the math and charts. Installing those four packages is the only setup required before running any of the demos. The demos map to topics covered in the "DSP First" textbook series, written by three professors: James McClellan, Ronald Schafer, and Mark Yoder. That series spans three books published between 1998 and 2016. The concepts covered include sinusoidal waveforms, Fourier series, z-transforms, digital and analog filters, convolution, pole-zero plots, spectrograms, and continuous-to-discrete sampling. There are thirteen demos in total, each a standalone Python script you run from the command line. Each one opens an interactive graphical window. The README shows side-by-side screenshots of the original MATLAB output and the new Python output for every demo, making it easy to compare how closely the ports match the source. The repository was built using Claude Code to help with the conversion work. This project is mainly useful for students or instructors who want to follow DSP course material without a MATLAB license. The Python tools it depends on are free and widely available. The README does not explain the underlying math or signal processing concepts, it assumes the reader is working through the textbook alongside the demos.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I'm working through the DSP First textbook using the dspfirst Python demos. Explain what the z-transform demo shows and what the sliders control.

Prompt 2

I want to add a demo for the Discrete Fourier Transform to the dspfirst repo. Help me write a PyQt6 window that shows the magnitude spectrum of a signal.

Prompt 3

The spectrogram demo is running slowly on my laptop. Suggest ways to speed it up using SciPy or NumPy without changing the PyQt6 interface.

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