Python Tutorial Series – IDE

Python source files end in .py. Python source files can be written in a simple text editor. Python comes installed with a tool called IDLE, Integrated Development and Learning Environment. It is an editor with a shell window. It also has a debugger. A popular alternative is Anaconda. Anaconda is a huge all in one tool that contains a bunch of IDE's such as Jupyter Notebook, Spyder, R Studio and Jupyter Lab, data science libraries such as numpy, pandas and Numby, and a package manager called conda. There is also a learning section with links to python tutorials, Anaconda documentation, pandas documentation, machine learning and data science resources. A community section contains links to forums, events and blogs. Anaconda is able to run on Windows, Linux and macOS. It also has versions for Python 2 and 3. Since we are focusing on Python 3, that is the version you would want to download.
The IDE I prefer is Spyder. I'm used to tools such as Netbeans or Intellij. Spyder is more similar to those than Jupyter Notebook is. Spyder is standalone and has an editor, debugger and console built in. Jupyter opens in a web browser with a file explorer. A new file, terminal or existing file can be selected, which will then open in another browser tab.
Another IDE that appears to be pretty good is PyCharm. I've just started using it, but so far it's pretty good. It's developed by JetBrains, who also make Intellij. PyCharm seems to be a more full featured than Spyder.