When we talk about the software development lifecycle, a lot of activities are involved in each of its phases. Without proper tools designed for these processes, the task of a software developer would have become quite daunting. Among the various handy tools available, there is IDE software that helps automate the process of editing, compiling, and testing the code. IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment, and it is something that comprehends code in a better way than a text editor. While a text editor is only designed to write and edit code, IDEs go beyond it to perform testing and debugging of code as well.
Now various IDEs are available in the market for different programming languages. In this article, we are going to specifically focus on the IDEs that are suitable for Python programming language. You must already be familiar with the popularity of Python and how it is being used by millions of developers worldwide. This programming language is not only suitable for software development but is also an indispensable language for data science, numerical computing, scientific computing, game development, and big data analytics. Therefore, it is important for Python programmers to understand what IDEs are best suited for this language.
Let’s find out the top 10 Python IDEs that you can use for your next project.
Top 10 Python IDEs
1. Spyder
This is a free and open-source scientific environment written in Python. The software features a unique combination of advanced code editing, analysis, debugging, and profiling functionality. As a developer, you can function efficiently in a multi-language editor with a function/class browser. You can also utilize the power of as many IPython consoles as you like in one GUI.
2. PyCharm
This dedicated cross-platform Python IDE creates a convenient environment for productive web, Python, and data science development. Developers can explore a number of essential tools available on this platform. It is available in free as well as paid versions – the free edition is called Community, and the paid version is called Professional. The platform supports both Python 2 and Python 3 versions.
3. Jupyter Notebook
The Jupyter Notebook is basically a web application that is used for building and sharing computational documents. Whatever your language of choice, Python, Scala, R, or Julia, this platform supports them among 40 others. You can expect to get rich interactive output using this IDE, like images, videos, LaTex, HTML, and custom MME types. It allows integration with big data tools like Apache Spark through codes written in Python, Scala, and R languages. You can further explore that data with Scikit-learn, Pandas, TensorFlow, and ggplot2.
4. Visual Studio Code
Developed by Microsoft, Visual Studio Code is a free and open-source environment that can help you start coding swiftly. Python, JavaScript, Java, and C++ are some of the many languages that are supported by this platform. You can edit or debug your code in real time and utilize the call or chat feature to discuss ideas with other developers. It highlights keywords in your code with different colors so that you can easily find out coding patterns. Using its IntelliSense feature, you will get smart code completion suggestions based on function definitions, variable types, and imported modules.
5. Wing
Designed to give a more productive development experience, Wing Python IDE is a go-to editor for all your coding needs. As mentioned on the official website, Wing comes loaded with features like early problem identification with assistance from its deep Python code analysis, finding bugs faster, context-appropriate auto-completion and documentation of code, and a powerful debugger. The platform makes it easy to get around code with goto-definition, editor symbol index, module and class browser, powerful multi-file search, and keyboard-driven search.
6. PyDev
PyDev is a Python IDE for Eclipse that developers can use in Python, Jython, and IronPython development. As a user, you will find some interesting features of PyDev, like type hinting, code completion, Django integration, debugger, refactoring, code analysis, interactive console, PyLint integration, unit test integration, and MyPy integration, among others. Over the years, PyDev has received many improvements to the type interface along with a considerable increase in contributions to the code base.
7. Thonny
If you are a beginner in Python, then this Python IDE is specifically designed for you. Thonny’s initial user interface is stripped of all features that can distract beginners. You can use simple keyboard shortcuts to run your code step by step and debug it. The platform’s editor easily spots syntax errors that are most common for beginners to make.
8. Rodeo
This Python IDE is specifically designed for data scientists. This development environment is known for being intuitive, lightweight, and customizable to its very core. Similar to the IDEs mentioned above, Rodeo also comes with auto-complete, Ipython support, and syntax highlighting. Moreover, it allows data pros to inspect, interact, and compare data frames and plots.
9. Sublime Text
Sublime Text is a versatile and fast text editor that can automate repetitive tasks so that you can focus on more important activities. This cross-platform editor supports a variety of community-developed third-party packages that offer snippets, syntax highlighting, and automation backed by Python plugins. You can use all of the smart syntax-based features within the modern JavaScript ecosystem.
10. Apache NetBeans
Known as a development environment, application framework, and tooling platform, Apache NetBeans offers wizards, editors, and templates to help developers build applications in Python, Java, PHP, JavaScript, HTML5, and many other languages. It can be installed and used on all operating systems that support Java.
With all these options available, which Python IDE would you like to explore first?
