Requirements for a Good Python Coding Environment
1. Save and reload code files
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.
2. Run code from within the environment
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.
3. Debugging support
Being able to step through your code as it runs is a core feature of all IDEs and most good code editors.
4. Syntax highlighting
Being able to quickly spot keywords, variables, and symbols in your code makes reading and understanding code much easier.
5. Automatic code formatting
Any 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.
General Editors with Python Support
- Eclipse + PyDev
- Sublime Text
- Atom
- GNU Emacs
- Vi / Vim
- Visual Studio
- Visual Studio Code