In the Python world, PyCharm is designed to be the integrated development environment (IDE) necessary for any successful coding project.
PyCharm is an IDE specifically designed for Python programming. While it's possible to develop Python code within a number of different IDEs, PyCharm is the most popular. Developed by JetBrains, PyCharm offers a wide range of features to support beginners. At the same time, it allows you to customize themes and plugins to suit advanced developers.
PyCharm offers a variety of services like database tooling, project options for web development, a programming text editor, syntax highlighting, project navigation and code completion among others. With an integrated terminal and a built-in PEP8-based unit testing test runner, PyCharm makes great tool that increases productivity while coding.
Some features to note in PyCharm are:
PyCharm requires the Python interpreter to be installed. Python can be installed via the python.org website. Once Python is installed, you can grab a copy of PyCharm from the Jetbrains site. Both are easy click-next installers.
Read: PowerShell To Python And Back
When first starting to use PyCharm there are a few recommended tasks to accomplish.
IDLE is the built-in IDE that comes with Python. It gets the job done but it's super-basic whereas PyCharm is the fully-featured editor.
PyCharm offers lots of features we just went over like sophisticated heuristics with autocomplete suggestions, multiple refactoring options, and you can preview changes before committing them. PyCharm also has support for multiple version control systems such as Mercurial, Git, Subversion, and CVS. With a built-in debugger, you can also leverage run-time information—such as determining what types of variables can be passed to which functions.
However, with all of the bells and whistles that PyCharm offers, it has been known to use a lot of memory and may become slow at times. The only aspect of PyCharm that sometimes receives criticism is it's GUI design, which, if you're a Python coder shouldn't matter too much anyway.
On the other hand, IDLE is a lightweight IDE. For beginners who use simple scripts, IDLE can be handy as it provides basic features. However, if the interface is not intuitive, the debugger is not complete and the editing tool offers limited functionality. The interactive shell is only useful with standard libraries. When compared with PyCharm, IDLE is the inferior choice by far.
PyCharm is available in two editions: Community Edition, which is free, and Professional Edition, which is partially proprietary. The price ranges from $29-$199. So if you’re looking for a Python IDE, PyCharm is the ultimate choice.
Adam Bertram is a 20-year veteran of IT. He’s currently an automation engineer, blogger, independent consultant, freelance writer, author, and trainer. Adam focuses on DevOps, system management, and automation technologies as well as various cloud platforms. He is a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management MVP and efficiency nerd that enjoys teaching others a better way to leverage automation.
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