Top 6 Integrated Development Environments (IDE) for Python Programmers

An integrated development environment (IDE) allows you to run code written in different programming languages. For example, it is important to have an IDE for running Python, as Python is becoming more prevalent in various computer applications.

The choice is vast, and the "open source" mentality that much of the developer community also applies here, so there are many free tools out there. As programming is an increasingly important industry, there are also paid tools that aim to offer more.

Some free IDEs have limits on the amount of code you can use, while paid IDEs, of course, offer a lot more freedom.

IDLE

Named after Eric Idle of Monty Python, IDLE is quite minimalist compared to other tools, although it has everything you need.

Coded in Python, IDLE uses the Tkinter toolkit for its graphical interface. Starting IDLE will open a Python shell, just like you would when beginning Python from the terminal. You can play with code snippets with keywords and colorful results.

Then you can open a new window to start coding correctly. Your code will be appropriately highlighted and automatically indented, with a configurable level of indentation. IDLE supports the use of spaces or tabs for indentation and can do an automatic conversion between the two - in addition, it can indent multiple lines at a time.

IDLE does not have any project management function but has a powerful debugger that displays the call stack and the status of local and global variables.

Eric

Like IDLE, eric (in lowercase) is named after Eric Idle and is also written in Python. However, although Python is its focal point, the tool supports other languages.

It supports essential tasks like code completion, brace matching, a built-in class browser, and a powerful debugger.

Although the interface seems loaded, it turns out to be suitable for serious coding: eric has, for example, a hex editor, an SQL browser, and an icon creator.

It supports unit testing and can debug multithreaded and multiprocessor programs, which anyone who tries it will testify generates the worst bugs.

PyDev

PyDev is a Python IDE running under Eclipse. It is a very popular open-source IDE in various programming languages and has a wide range of plugins to add functionality.

PyDev comes with a series of basic but essential coding features, such as code autocompletion, debugging, coding templates, and a browser for testing the code.

It offers an integration option to work with the Django Python framework and support for Jython and IronPython.

Since it is free software, it is free to use and provides enough functionality for essential to intermediate programming.

PyCharm

PyCharm is a Python IDE for professional developers. Offered by JetBrains, a paid program includes an impressive set of tools, such as intelligent assistance, web development frameworks, and scientific tools (such as IPython Notebook, Anaconda, NumPy, Matplotlib…), a cross-technology development, and a massive collection of development tools. Considered the best Python IDE for Python developers, PyCharm supports over 50 plugins of different kinds.

Thonny

Thonny is an IDE developed at the University of Tartu in Estonia and is written in Python. It features a powerful debugger, ideal for learning the ins and outs of coding without worrying about how breakpoints work.

Thonny will do the indentation automatically as you code, which is helpful for anyone new to Python (the language that uses indentation to delimit functions, loops, classes, clauses, etc.). It will automatically complete your code and provide the correspondence between parentheses and brackets. It also has the highlighting of any syntax errors.

Ideal for beginners, it is a bit difficult to set up for a neophyte. Pity!

Atom

Let's end this list with Atom, "the hackable text editor of the 21st century". Maintained by the megalith of social coding GitHub, it can do just about anything you can imagine. And if he can't do it, then indeed someone is working on a plugin to fix it. Atom has a huge community working for it.

Contrary to what one might think, its clean interface makes it a very user-friendly IDA and suitable for beginners.