Python Programming/Development Environments

You can edit Python source code files in any plain text editor such as Notepad, Notepad++ or Vim. However, there are multiple integrated development environments (IDEs) available for Python. A full list can be found on the Python wiki.

Visual Studio Code

There is a Python extension for Visual Studio Code, a popular cross-platform code editor.

Links:

• Python in Visual Studio Code, code.visualstudio.com

Eclipse

You can use the Eclipse IDE as your Python IDE. The only requirement is Eclipse and the Eclipse PyDev Plug-in.

Go to http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/ and get the proper Eclipse IDE version for your OS platform. There are also updates on the site, but just look for the basic program, Download and install it. The install just requires you to unpack the downloaded Eclipse install file onto your system.

You can install PyDev Plug-in two ways:

• Suggested: Use Eclipse's update manager, found in the tool bar under "Help" -> "install new Software". add http://pydev.org/updates/ in "work with" click add, and select PyDev ,and click "Next" and let Eclipse do the rest. Eclipse will now check for any updates to PyDev when it searches for updates.
  • If you get an error stating a requirement for the plugin "org.eclipse.mylyn", expand the PyDev tree, and deselect the optional mylyn components.
• Or install PyDev manually, by going to http://pydev.sourceforge.net and get the latest PyDev Plug-in version. Download it, and install it by unpacking it into the Eclipse base folder.

Emacs

There is a Python mode for Emacs which provides features such as running pieces of code, and changing the tab level for blocks.

Links:

• python-mode, gitlab.com

IDLE

Python comes with IDLE, which is an editor and interactive shell. It has fewer features compared to other options, though. It should be installed already on Mac OS or Windows if you installed with the installer. On Linux, you may have to install an extra package. If your system is Debian based and uses APT, run

sudo apt install idle3

On other systems, the package is typically called python3-idle.

External links

• Integrated Development Environments, wiki.python.org