Prerequisite tasks

Configure Google Colab and Pentaho Data Integration (PDI) for machine learning.

You will set up:

• Python (and common ML libraries)
• A Google Colab account
• R (optional) and rJava (for R steps in PDI)
• PDI environment variables for R integration

Google Colab

Colab runs Jupyter notebooks in your browser. It includes preconfigured runtimes for common ML libraries.

Google Colabcolab.research.google.com

Google Colab

Colab

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These steps configure your environment to run ML pipelines in PDI.

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

This section is for Linux environments that use apt.

1

Install or verify Python

1. Update packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

1. Verify Python:

python3 --version

Optional: install a newer Python version (deadsnakes PPA)

Only do this if you must upgrade Python.

sudo apt install dirmngr ca-certificates software-properties-common apt-transport-https -y
sudo gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring /usr/share/keyrings/deadsnakes.gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys F23C5A6CF475977595C89F51BA6932366A755776
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/deadsnakes.gpg] https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/deadsnakes/ppa/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pythonppa-deadsnakes.list
sudo apt-get update
apt-cache search python3.12
sudo apt install python3.12-full -y

If you need multiple versions, use update-alternatives:

ls -ls /usr/bin/python*
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/python python /usr/bin/python3.10 1
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/python python /usr/bin/python3.12 2
sudo update-alternatives --config python

2

Install ML libraries (venv)

Install these libraries:

• h2o
• pandas
• numpy
• matplotlib
• py4j

Install Python Data Science Packagesapmonitor.com

Python package reference

python3 -m venv ~/h2o-env
source ~/h2o-env/bin/activate
pip install h2o pandas numpy matplotlib py4j
pip list | grep -E "h2o|pandas|numpy|matplotlib|py4j"
which python
deactivate

h2o

3

Install R and rJava

R is required only if you plan to run R steps in PDI.

1. Install R:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install r-base r-base-dev -y

1. Verify:

R --version

Running R without sudo installs packages for your user. Use sudo -i R to install system-wide packages.

1. Install & configure rJava:

java --version
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install default-jdk libtirpc-dev -y
sudo R CMD javareconf

R CMD javareconf is a command-line tool used in the R programming environment to detect the current Java installation on your system and update R's configuration files to match it.

1. Install rJava from source:

cd /tmp
wget https://cloud.r-project.org/src/contrib/rJava_1.0-14.tar.gz
tar -xzf rJava_1.0-14.tar.gz
cd rJava
./configure --with-java-home=/usr/lib/jvm/default-java JAVA_LIBS="-L/usr/lib/jvm/default-java/lib/server -ljvm"
cd /tmp
sudo R CMD INSTALL rJava

1. Verify rJava:

R -e "library(rJava); .jinit(); system.file(package='rJava')"

Optional: install RStudio

Use RStudio only if you want a dedicated IDE.

1. Download a .deb from the RStudio downloads page.
2. Install it:

sudo apt install -f ./rstudio-*.deb

4

Configure PDI for R integration

Set environment variables

You can get the paths from R:

R -e "Sys.getenv('R_HOME'); Sys.getenv('R_LIBS_USER')"

Edit /etc/environment and set the values for your system (new terminal):

sudo nano /etc/environment

Example:

# Add ::/usr/lib/R/bin
PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin:/usr/lib/R/bin"

# R variables
R_HOME=/usr/lib/R
R_LIBS_USER=/home/pentaho/R/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-library/4.3

Ensure PATH includes your /usr/lib/R/bin directory:

PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin:/usr/lib/R/bin"

Copy libjri.so into Spoon’s native lib directory:

cd /usr/local/lib/R/site-library/rJava/jri
cp libjri.so ~/Pentaho/design-tools/data-integration/native-lib/linux/x86_64/
sudo chown pentaho:pentaho ~/Pentaho/design-tools/data-integration/native-lib/linux/x86_64/libjri.so

5

Validate with a simple R transformation

You may need to restart your machine to register the libraries.

1. Start PDI:

cd ~/Pentaho/design-tools/data-integration
./spoon.sh

1. Create a transformation with an R Script Executor step:

R Script Executor

1. Use this script:

library(datasets)
iris

1. Click Test Script:

Preview