Python is an object-oriented language gaining popularity due to its easiness in learning and operation portability. Easiness in learning comes with its similarity to some existing computer languages like C/C++ with added advantages of coding that include dynamic assignment of variables, indenting, object assignment etc. Python is developer friendly, open source, cross-platform, interpreted language. Being an interpreted language, Python codes executes line by line and hence makes debugging easy.
IDE (Integrated Development Environment) in its simplest form is a software application required to write, compile and debug code for any given language. Generally, IDEs are language dependent hence an IDE is best suited for one or two languages only.
For learning a language like Python, different IDEs are available to be chosen smartly depending upon one’s requirements. Some popular python IDEs are:
IDLE: Default IDE whenever Python is installed. Good for beginners and educational usages. Its GUI toolkit is written on Python itself. IDLE provides multi-window text editor, Python Shell, and an integrated debugger. It's available free but is not optimum for longer codes.
PyDev: PyDev is Python IDE for Eclipse. It’s an open source tool with Django integration. Provides smart indentation, code folding, parser error with multiple language support and offers good support for CPython, Iron Python, and Jython. Performance decreases for large codebases with multiple plugins.
Atom: Developed by Github and is highly customizable, means can install packages as per the need instead of installing entire software in one go and hence can be operated on small memory machines. Although it is a source code editor but can be used as IDE. Faster script writing is supported by the auto-completion feature. Good for beginners to professional as technically supported by Github community.
Thonny: Comes as inbuilt with Python 3. Good for beginners with simple GUI, Simple texting, function key support for debugging and takes care of PATH issues. Provides a good representation of the function call and allows the user to internally evaluate the expressions. Lack of support for templates and slow plugin creation is lacking as faced by developers.
Wing: This closed source editor facilitates interactive code development with in-line error detection. Conditional breakpoints, debugger command line, and watch values make debugging quite easy. The wing is customizable and extensible to provide easy code navigation, integrated unit testing and remote development.
repl.it: It is an online compiler hence no installation is needed. Just have a browser and an internet connection and one is ready to code.
Some more IDEs that are available as an open source include Rodeo, Eric Python, Spyder, Vim, etc.
Closed source IDE include PyCharm, Sublime Text, etc.
Comparison between different IDEs:
IDE Name
Platform Support
License
Size
Feature Inclusion
IDLE [3]
Windows, Linux, Mac
PSFL
Medium
Lightweight and simple to use.
PyDev [4]
Windows, Linux, Mac
EPL
Medium
To be used with Eclipse plug-in
Atom [5]
Windows, Linux, OS X
MIT
Medium
Light Weight.
Fast to load and use
Thonny [6]
Windows, Linux, Mac OS
MIT
Medium
Support python 3 and newer versions.
Wing [7]
Windows, Linux, Mac OS
Proprietary
Big
Suitable for scientific data analysis work
Conclusion: Many open source IDEs are available that are easy to use, lightweight and provide fabulous features. Thonny is preferred by many beginners for learning purposes. For specific commercial usages, closed source IDEs are preferred for additional facilities during development.
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