Of course, there are lots of other feaures you might want (like source code control, an extension model, build and test tools, language help, etc.), but they work work support the core features. Similarly, if you have to drop out of the editor to run your Python code, then it’s not much more than a simple text editor.īeing able to step through your code as it runs is a core feature of all IDEs and most good code editors.īeing able to quickly spot keywords, variables, and symbols on your code makes reading and understanding code much easier.Īny editor or IDE worth it’s salt will recognize the colon at the end of a while or for statement, and know the next line should be indented. If an IDE or editor won’t let you save your work and reopen everything later, in the same state it was in when you left, it’s not much of an IDE.

So what things do we really need in a coding environment? Feature lists vary from app to app, but there are a core set of features which makes coding easier: Requirements for a Good Python Coding Environment Compared to an IDE, a good dedicated code editor is usually smaller and quicker, but often less feature rich. Most good code editors can execute code and control a debugger, and the very best interact with source control systems as well. In contrast, a dedicated code editor can be as simple as a text editor with syntax highlighting and code formatting capabilities. Most IDEs support many different programming languages and contain many more features, and therefore can be large, take time to download and install, and require advanced knowledge to use properly. These tools usually include an editor tailored to handling code (for example, syntax highlighting and auto-completion) build, execution, and debugging tools and some form of source control.

As the name implies, IDEs integrate several tools specifically designed for software development. Lastly, none of these are mutually exclusive, so you can try them out on your own with very little penalty.īut first… What Is an IDE and a Code Editor?Īn IDE (or Integrated Development Environment) is a program dedicated to software development. We’ll call out some Why’s and Why Not’s for each. To make things easier, we’ll break our list into two broad categories tools-those built exclusive for Python development, and those built for general development we can use for Python. We can’t pick what works best for you and your process, but we can explain the pros and cons of each and help you make an informed decision. Using an IDE, or even just a good dedicated code editor, makes coding fun-but which one?įear not, Gentle Reader! We are here to help explain and demystify the myriad of choices available to you. Writing Python using IDLE or the Python Shell is great for simple things, but those tools quickly turn larger programming projects into frustrating pits of despair.

Python text editor mac with debug