As we’re moving towards the era of DATA, Python is becoming the most dominant in the world of computer programming. Since, its introduction, it has grown enormously throughout the tech market in almost every sector. The main objective of this language is to develop Software Programming, AI, Data Mining, ML, and Server-Side Web Development and it seamlessly works on different significant platforms such as Windows, Linux, macOS, etc.
As the popularity and number of users started growing around the world, the IDEs (Integrated Development Environment) started taking up many different tasks, and the use of a handful of codes enabled programmers to do wonders. Whether it could be a web or desktop, the Python IDEs enhance the capabilities of the software and often consist of a source code editor, build automation tools, and a debugger. So, in this article, we will understand the 6 best IDEs for python in 2022 that you can use to enhance the software capabilities.
But first, let’s start with the base and understand what exactly an IDE is.
What is an IDE?
The IDE or Integrated Development Environment was designed to perform code easily for programmers. It’s software for building applications that combines common developer tools into a single GUI (graphical user interface). Thus, it provides functionality for app development and offers a central interface for helping you in compiling, code editing, and debugging to eliminate bugs from the program.
Besides this, as discussed above, it majorly consists of 3 parts i.e. Source Code Editor, Builds Automation Tools, and Debugger.
Moving ahead now is the time to discuss the 6 best IDEs for Python in 2022.
1. PyCharm
It’s a hybrid platform that is commonly used for developing applications on python. PyCharm is one of the most popular IDE and is well compatible with Linux, Windows, and macOS. It was introduced back in 2010 by a Czech company JetBrains which was formerly called IntelliJ. Today, giants like Twitter, Facebook, and many others are using PyCharm as their Python IDE. It allows coders to build software with fewer efforts in no time. Besides this, it offers code analysis tools, testing tools, debugging, etc., and comes with an elegant UI that can be customized as per the requirement with the help of plugins. By using PyCharm, the user will also get the following features:
- PyCharm allows refactoring in the development in which a user can rename one or more than one file altogether at once.
- It also allows developers to work and handle (running, debugging, testing-deploying) it remotely
- It supports many web technologies such as CSS, Java, and JavaScript
2. Jupyter
Jupyter is another best IDE for Python Programming that offers an easy-to-use, interactive data science environment across many programming languages besides Python. It was introduced first in 2014 from IPython by Fernando Pérez and Brian Granger. The fascinating thing about Jupyter is that it doesn’t only work like an IDE, but also as a presentation or educational tool. Thus, Jupyter is perfect for those who are just starting out in the big data field and it’s an app based on a server-client structure. Right now, it is one of the best tools that support Numerical Simulation, Data Cleaning, Machine Learning, Data Visualization, and Statistical Modeling. Besides this, Jupyter also offers some significant features for their developers, some of them are:
- For a better user experience, Jupyter offers a combined code, text, and images
- Jupyter also offers integrated libraries such as Matplotlib, Pandas, NumPy that help in uplifting data science capabilities
- A perfect tool for beginners
3. Visual Studio Code
VS Code is one of the most familiar and widely used open-source tools (IDE) developed by Microsoft and the first version was published back in 2015. If you’re a Windows user, then VS Code IDE is perfect for developing python apps. It comes with tons of the most powerful featured tools and also allows users to debug within the editor. Unlike some other IDEs, it is also built on Electron (a framework that is being used to develop Node). The reason is pretty simple behind building it up on Electron, and that is to offer cross-platform applications if your application is already using web technologies. However, VS Code IDE also has some interesting features which you need to consider before getting your hands-on:
- Visual Studio Code IDE offers extensions to add additional features and a number of add ons like adding new languages, debuggers, themes, and other services
- Since it’s a very popular IDE, it enables users to work with Git as well as other SCM providers for a better experience
- The developer will have an option to add modules to permit support for web development instruments like Flask or Django for a better user experience
4. Atom
Atom is an open-source environment and was introduced by Git in 2015. The working methods are very simple and chained in a structured way of an atom and to date, it’s one of the most useful code editor tools preferred by programmers. Atom allows users to use multiples themes, and colors, for managing multiples projects. Like VS IDE, the atom is also built on electrons and is controlled by the electron front-end structure, a device for building desktop applications using JS, CSS, and HTML. Besides this, Python support is provided by an extension that can be installed when Atom is running. However, if you’re working on data science, you need to consider some of these features:
- The best part about Atom IDE is that it allows users to customize the interface as per their needs (from interface to basic functions).
- Similar to Visual Studio and is well documented IDE
- Atom IDE is one of the best Python editors that supports Command Palette
5. Spyder
It’s a free, open-source IDE written for Python, and was released as a stable update in 2021 (initial release 2009). It is one of the most powerful tools for data scientists and also offers integration with Anaconda package manager distribution. A programmer can easily integrate this IDE with some of the most common python libraries such as NumPy, Matplotlib, SciPy, Pandas, etc. Spyder is probably one of the best IDE, especially for those who have never worked with any IDEs before. Besides this, it also contains features like a text editor with syntax highlighting, code completion and so on which you can edit its values using a GUI. Some other major factors in considering this environment are listed below:
- Spyder can perform well in multi-language editor and auto code completion mode in python programming.
- It can easily integrate with the IPython console
- It helps in finding and eliminating bottlenecks (unclogging process to boost efficiency)
6. PyDev
PyDev is a Python IDE for Eclipse that can also be used by developers for implementing in Python, Jython, and IronPython development. It was introduced by Aleks Totic in 2003 with the concept of eliminating the requirement of installing the language’s compiler/interpreter on their machines. Besides this, PyDev is an Eclipse plugin for using Python IDE. It also allows the developers in supporting “type hinting, refactoring”, as well as Debugging and Code Analysis. PyDev is a well-designed environment for “experienced programmers” that enables robust syntax highlighting, code folding, parser errors, etc. It’s not wrong to say that to date PyDev is one of the few IDEs that also extends its support for Jython and Cython. Those who are convinced about working with PyDev must consider some of the following few features:
- It offers extensive support for their users
- PyDev also allows users to create a google app engine python project
- This environment is capable enough to import codes automatically in order to complete it
With the help of IDE, you are surely going to explore more capabilities and try out new things in programming. As we’ve discussed above, it will provide you with endless possibilities to make apps as per your need, and that’s why we thought to share the 6 best IDE for Python that you can use in 2022. In this list, some of them are also for beginners and can surely be helpful in some ways. Besides this, there are other IDEs out there too which you can experience someday.