IDE, an abbreviation for ‘Integrated Development Environment’ is a coding tool consisting of a source code editor, an interpreter and a debugger which helps the programmer in software development. Various features of IDEs make it easy for the programmer to test and debug a code and to distinguish the packages.
Python programming language is like everyone wants to be a genius in it and for that, the first requirement is an IDE. Here is a list of five Python IDEs providing different features to choose according to one’s requirements.
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5 Best Python IDEs for Programmers
1. Pycharm IDE
Pycharm is one of the best IDEs for python developers regarding its features. Its complete feature is available in a paid version, but some basic features are also free to use. JetBrains is the developer of this IDE. Following are some of the features available for the software developers:
- Every operating system, like Windows, Linux, etc supports this IDE. Apart from Python, Pycharm also supports other programming languages like javascript.
- It is very easy to install several Python packages and use them in the code.
- Navigation between project files is too easy in this IDE. A developer is provided with integrated python debugger. This feature makes development a comfortable task.
- Pycharm supports different frameworks for web development like Django, Flask, and others Python web frameworks.
2. PyDev IDE
Pydev is one of the best Eclipse plug-in and commonly used IDE for Python. If the developer is from the Java background, he must be familiar with the Eclipse and PyDev will be the best for such developers.
There are several features of this IDE which makes it one of the best available IDE for Python. Some of these features are:
- It is also available for a different operating system including Linux and windows.
- Additional to other features of eclipse like code highlighting, it also includes code completion, integrated python debugger, and refracting tools.
- Web developers who use Django framework must have this IDE as it allows the creation of Django project and Django integration is one of its best features.
- For source code control, PyDev uses GIT integration.
3. Wing IDE
Wing IDE is one of the alternatives for Python developers, created by WingWare. WingWare has already released a number of updates suitable for multiple python versions. It has various features, some of which are similar to other IDEs. Its important features are listed below:
- It supports different Python packages or frameworks including Django, Matplotlib, PyQT, Tkinter, and others.
- It has a brilliant code editor with a great debugging tool which is preferred by every developer.
- The latest version of this IDE is wing 6, which has several enhanced features, including support for Raspberry PI, OS X full-screen mode and many more.
- It is also available for a different Operating system including Mac OS, Windows, and Linux.
Also Read: 10 Best IDEs For App Developers And Programmers
4. Eric Python IDE
Eric IDE is an open-source development environment for python developers. It is developed by Detlev Offenbach. It is available under GPL license for use. The latest version of Eric is Eric 6 which is based on the cross-platform PYQT5/4 and Python 3. It has several features, few of them are as follows:
- It uses a source code editing component called Scintilla as used by a number of IDEs.
- It has Python shell and debugger as well as Ruby debugger and shell which includes automatic code checking.
- Features similar to other IDEs includes code completion, brace matching, error highlighting, integrated class browser and many others.
- It is a light-weight IDE and contains almost every features required by a development environment.
5. VIM IDE
VIM is a great text editor used as Python IDE. It is actually an implementation of the concept of text editors and IDEs. It can be easily installed on different operating systems. Its important features are:
- Like other modern IDEs, VIM provides a way to hide portions of code that you are not working on, this is called collapsing or folding of methods and classes.
- Its best feature is syntax checking. That is why it is loved by many developers.
Conclusion
Selecting an IDE is always confusing when you are ready to start a project. Different IDEs suits to different developers. Some may love PyCharm, some may be in love with VIM. Actually, it totally depends on the developer, what he prefers. There are also other Python IDEs, which was not discussed above including Spyder, Komodo, and others.
It is 2018 now. I think “Visual Studio Code” is the best open-source and free IDE for Python and all other programming languages. It is also available for Linux and Windows. There are hundreds of plug-ins to add power to your coding.
You might want to include Geany, the code editor. Most people need just this. It is simple, lightweight and supports even colour schemes, bracket matching, indentation, etc.
And it can be used for other languages too.
It’s pretty much the Swiss knife of IDEs and text editors.
I think spyder is also a very good IDE.
I’m a beginner. So what IDE I must have in my pc. Literally confused seeing all these.
Will visual studio code will work out well in my case