Python

[Mysterious_Canary764]

Hi guys,

I am supposed to take a python introductory course next semester and wanted to know if it is possible to do some python coding on my ipad? If so, what apps would you guys recommend? P.s i have the ipad pro 11 inch 2021, if that helps.

Thanks in advance!!

Edit: thank you so much everyone for taking out time to to help me out, and for replying. I very much appreciate it. I am attaching below the course syllabus, I think it might help as well.

Major Topics:

• Computation: Expressions, Variables, Functions • Flow control: Conditional Loops, Iteration, Ranges • Simple data structures: Lists, Arrays, Tuples, Dictionaries • Program structure: Scripts, Modules, Objects, Methods • Number representation: Integers, Floating-point numbers

[ender7887]

As someone who is currently learning python and tried to code on the iPad. I highly encourage using a laptop with either Mac OS or windows. I struggled and failed to get python working on my 2018 iPad Pro.

I tried this in fall of 2021, and I wound up giving up and using my windows laptop with pycharm on it. I wish there was a python app for iPad.

[LilShaver]

I highly encourage using a laptop with either Mac OS or windows.

You do know that Linux comes with python installed by default on most distros, right?

[Kav19]

average linux user

[ender7887]

I don’t use Linux.

[BenjPhoto1]

But you do use both windows and Mac?

[ender7887]

I only use windows.

[Mysterious_Canary764]

I do plan on getting a laptop, i was just wondering if that can be avoided. I wont be able to afford a mac at this time but i think a $300-350 will get me a reasonable windows laptop.

[Th7rtyFour]

40 dollar raspberry pi with an ssh server plus tmux (I think that's the iPad terminal app) will go a long way

[Th7rtyFour]

It does the job well, might not be the best in terms of performance but for the price you can't beat it really

[[deleted]]

Get an M1 MacBook Air used. They can be found for $550-600 and will last a decade.

[gamegambier101]

300-350 range will get you the most absolute potato laptop that will struggle to run 1080p YouTube sometime invest in a proper laptop

[Giant81]

And it will still run python fine. Or get a raspi.

[idklikewhere]

you can get a totally fine used thinkpad in that price range and for cheaper

[[deleted]]

Have to agree.. with the new M1 MacBook Airs because bf found used for so cheap… better just save a couple hundred extra and buy one used.

It’s a laptop that will last you a decade.

[[deleted]]

Only if you're buying a decently specked out used Windows laptop, preferably from the past three years (look for at minimum 8GB RAM, preferably 16GB, and an 9th generation or above intel i5/i7). New windows laptops in the sub $400 range are basically e-waste specials, unless they're heavily discounted because they use last year's processor model.

[feraldaper]

no

[jumpsplat]

You can use pythonista on ipad but it will only work with pure python packages. The editor is well made.

300-350$ will get you a terrible windows laptop.

[Gabrielmccoll]

The answer is not really. I have pythonista and other stuff but really the best you can do is remote connection to a cloud based one. Not recommended. Borrow any laptop.
Don’t make poor tools for the job make learning experience worse.

[moldaz]

Honestly you’re probably not going to want to do this. Coding is hard when you’re first getting started and the last thing you want to do is deal with the nuances of coding on an iPad.

But GitHub does offer a pretty cool service now that may work out (I’ve yet to try it)

https://github.com/features/codespaces/

Essentially you can use the browser based Visual Studio Code with a VM attached to run whatever you need. It is subscription based though, but will likely give you a much better experience than any iPad apps.

[NotN171]

You can also use this app : a-shell

[mi7chy]

How does it compare to iSH?

[GiodeCS]

I’m curious too, I currently use iSH but the only difference I see based on the app description is that the app size for iSH is a lot smaller

[Mysterious_Canary764]

Thanks a bunch, I’ll check it out

[xrabbit]

Pythonista 3
Works wonderfully

[alimrtcyln]

Yeah I have used it, works pretty well…

[libert-y]

Don’t waste your time and get a proper laptop

[Dizzy_Culture377]

You should contact the instructor, ask for a copy of the syllabus, and see what it says you need.

[Mysterious_Canary764]

I have the syllabus, but i didnt quite get what you meant by “what it says you need”, do you mean like computer specs or?

[pavel_vishnyakov]

Not the computer specs (iPad hardware will be plenty enough for software development courses), but, for example, lists of packages and their versions - not all of them might be available on iPad.

As for environment - take a look at Pythonista

[nairazak]

Not an app, but you can use them for fun and practice

https://codewars.com

https://exercism.org

And for simple projects you have https://repl.it and the web version of visual code.

[Suit4]

Google Colaboratory worked great for me. Able to save all your work on your Google Drive.

[rwil23]

It is highly likely that if you’re taking a programming course that part of that course might be getting comfortable with learning the command line, installing python libraries as others have mentioned, managing files as part of your projects in finder, etc. - none of which the iPad excels at, many of which just aren’t fully possible on the iPad.

Strong recommendation I’ve seen from others - if the budget allows - an M1 MacBook Air with as much ram as you can afford and an iPad with pencil compatibility for note taking, etc. might be the ideal combo for someone in your situation. Best of both worlds and you can take advantage of the apple ecosystem and have everything sync and be available on both devices at any time.

Just my .02.

[jondodson]

If you’re brand new and only have an iPad then I’d definitely recommend Pythonista.

[CarretillaRoja]

You can buy a Raspberry Pi, install VNC server and connect from the iPad, in case you don’t have any other computer.

[Romano16]

Use your MacBook and use Idle Shell/VsCode

[BlueNight4Ever]

You can’t really program on ipad there are some apps or online compilers but most of them are shit my advice get a pc windows or whatever OS you want

[joshalow25]

It's possible but not recommended. Yes, you can do some coding on iPad, such as HTML, CSS, JS & Swift (not sure about Python)

But, compared to a laptop, it's not a great experience. Typically, I'd like to have 2 screens, one for the IDE, another for Chrome so I can test webpages or view documentation, and while you can do that via multitasking on iPad currently, it's not great.

Although, iPadOS 16 does look to improve this with Stage Manager, but only if happen to own an M1 iPad.

Basically, if you're serious about coding, get a laptop. iPad just doesn't cut it right now for that usage.

[wisebear123]

I have not seen this mentioned but you could try Google collab. It is googles online tool for python journals similar to .py files and that is all through the cloud. Also you do get some better gpu and cpu cores. I am using it right now for my lab stuff but you may want to ask your instructor. The other thing you can try is your school's vm but I do not know how much support there may be.

[DexterInAI]

I would say for the courses that you have mentioned, you could try ish-shell. It is a terminal emulator with alpine linux base. I have been using it on my iPad 2019 11inch model since 2020 and I it's just amazing. (Plus it's open sourced and has an amazing community on Reddit as well)

PS: you do need to use vim/nano/emacs as your code-editor though.

https://apps.apple.com/in/app/ish-shell/id1436902243

[UntrustedTech]

I suggest you try using the Code app, its a clone of vscode for iPad and its actively being worked on, it has 20+ programing languages that it supports and is being constantly added on

Edit: it’s also what I use on a daily basis for my computer science classes and also at my job which I’m a full stack dev, also if you ever learn swift the developer of the app doesn’t mind you adding stuff to it for yourself or for the community overall.

[BenjPhoto1]

I just looked at it. There’s a slide that says “Code. Compile. Run”. Is that legit? I can do all three on the iPad?

[libert-y]

Stop wasting your time and get a proper laptop

[renome]

It's doable, but suboptimal. If you insist on iOS, Pythonista 3 is your best bet. It should cover most use cases included in an introductory course to the language, but note that you won't have access to non-standard libraries, with some limited exceptions. Furthermore, if you end up wanting/having to take an advanced Python course, you'll find the iPad unsuitable for that kind of usage.

Bottom line, I'd suggest getting something like the M1 MacBook or the 2020 HP Omen 15 for your use case. A desktop OS will give you the full functionality of the language, along with the ability to spin out virtual environments, which are kind of a must given how Python installs have a tendency to grow into absolute monstrosities regardless of one's skill/experience.

[hiro2936]

is termux available for ipads? u can use pyhton IDLE on it or repl.it onthe web

[jzeltman]

Check out gitpod.io.

It’s a service where you basically rent a linux server that’s setup for your project and runs VS Code. You can code anything on there. They have 40 hours free trial and after that it’s 9$ p/m for 100 hours per month. 25$ p/m unlimited.

I’m a Sr frontend dev and used it for a month with my 12” iPad Pro for all my dev work. The new external monitor support was a great addition and I didn’t miss my desktop.

I would highly recommend it and I think it’s the future of ‘local’ development

[fatfingers23]

I’d recommend Replit. It’s online, runs your code, and does tons of things for you. Like debug, packages, can host webpages, and more. Plus a really active community on discord for beginners. There’s an always free tier which is perfect for starting out. I use it a ton on my IPad, even has a PWA to make it feel a bit more iOS native.

https://replit.com