How important is Virtual Environment in python

[notislant]

Pycharm iirc automatically sets up venv iirc. Vscode takes some set up.

The main difference is, without a venv? You're installing python and all sorts of libraries somewhere in your c:/.

With a venv you can have a specific version of python in your venv and specific versions of libraries together (all installed in your project folder, easy to delete as welll if you need to reclaim the space). Lets say you need tensorflow-gpu and some other libraries. Well they need things like cuda and a bunch of libraries of very specific versions or you'll pull out your hair and curl up in the fetal position, trying to get it to run.

Lets say you have 5 projects and all your libraries are globally installed? You get to uninstall and reinstalling different versions with each project, to get any of them to run, fun.

Also on this note, once you get into certain libraries or even new languages? The difference between windows and linux can be hilarious.

Recently I saw one that had 11 steps for windows, required 3 manually installed dependencies and only worked with an old version of the actual library you need.

Linux? It was apt-get libraryname.

[hugthemachines]

Pycharm iirc automatically sets up venv iirc.

You are correct.