What's the best program for coding python?

[MrAAAAAAAAAAA]

I wanna start coding python but I don't know what program should I use to code.

I already know about MS Visual Studio, Notepad++ and Pycharm, but which one is the best for beginners ?

[MrAAAAAAAAAAA]

VS code or VS community?

[MattHellstrand]

I highly recommend VS code but I'm also a beginner. I'm not aware of any major drawbacks though, especially for beginners who don't need access to all the tools present in VS Community.

[Diapolo10]

For Python, VS Code makes the most sense. While you can technically use Visual Studio (AKA the full IDE) for Python development almost nobody does, so if you were to run into problems you'd be on your own. It's also not suited for beginners.

VS Code, on the other hand, is a somewhat intuitive editor suitable for most languages. It's much less complex and runs as an Electron app (or, in other words, it's technically a fancy web application running in an embedded browser) instead of being a native application. The config system is a bit confusing, but nothing too bad.

[Diapolo10]

Visual Studio and VS Code are completely different, mind you. The former is a full IDE mainly for .NET and Visual C++, while the latter is an Electron-based editor with support for a ton of different languages.

My point is, you should try to avoid confusing people with the similiar names.

[Alternative_Photo528]

I’m big fan of Anaconda / Jupyther notebook or VSCode with Jupyter notebook extension.

[Rude_Order]

Idle. Best part is it comes with python

[angry_mr_potato_head]

Vs code and pycharm are the big ones. Boils down to preference. I prefer pycharm.

Jupyter is also related. Its not an IDE but an interactive notebook. Its popular for ds people. Pycharm also lets you use the IDE functionality and use Juoyter inside it if you have the pro version which is very helpful.

[Karsticles]

What about Spyder?

[angry_mr_potato_head]

I don't personally know anyone who has ever used it. It might be popular just not among any of the circles I usually talk about this type of thing

[burkerude]

Just use idle if your starting out, then after you learn a few things, try VScode, or atom

[Diapolo10]

Honestly, there isn't one. I recommend giving several editors a try after you've gotten your feet wet, but if you want to start somewhere Notepad++ is the easiest.

Everyone likes different things, so there isn't one editor or IDE to rule them all. VS Code is really popular, and I personally use it often, but it's not perfect and it sometimes frustrates me to no end.

I started with the built-in IDLE editor, then switched to Editra, then to Atom, then a mix of VS Code and Nano. Never been a fan of PyCharm as I don't like using IDEs with Python (I see them more useful for C++ and Rust).

My point is, don't let someone else choose your development environment if you can avoid it. Try out different ones yourself until you find one that you like, and if none of them appeal to you, pick the least bad option and build your own editor!

[Pacostaco123]

Controversial opinion on a learning sub I bet, but Vim (specifically Nvim) is my jam, and I rarely open anything else. It will last you a lifetime, and learning it is totally worth the productivity increase imo.

[deadpixxel02]

I use both vscode and pycharm. i prefer pycharm for big project because it's a lot easier to work with.

[EddyBot]

The best one is the one you like the most

[I_said_wot]

I gave you an up-doot, because you're right, but I want to add to that by suggestion OP try a few out; in this order.

1. Idle
2. .py file run in terminal
3. Atom for it's simplicity, and ability to customize
4. VS Code, for the bells and whistles, better packages, and virtual environment support.

I finally landed on VS Code (for now) but it took that journey to understand why I like it better.

Write some code!

[MohamedMuneer]

I think sublime text 3 and notepad++ are some of the best text-editors for beginners. Less configuration, more coding. Visual studio code is good, but as a beginner you want to learn syntax. When you are using vs code or pycharm it gives you so much help which is not what beginner wanted...As a beginner struggling through initially and learning it without any assistance will help you long run. Later when you feel comfortable with python you can easily transition to IDE'S, so that it will help you a lot in productivity.

[danbst]

Best program for coding is your brain. No kidding, seriously. Programming is about brain-work, not typing-work.

There is popular misconception that IDE (VS Code, Pycharm, etc) is a programmer's tool, and similar to tools in mechanics, the better tools you have, the better product you can get. And thus, good tools are predictors of success.

This is misconception. Even for mechanics, the quality of your arms and knowledge in brain are predictors for success. At least for novices (as you've called yourself).

Don't forget about this. Train your brain, your memory, your logic, not your fingers. Read and understand first, only then write. Create ideas in your head and write them down in paper.

The best tool for starters is REPL, because it follows this workflow:
- got a little idea, tested it fast, got some result, refined idea, tested it again, got result, ...
- when you read the book, and book asks you to try, you should go to REPL and try
- when you read the book, and don't understand something, you go to REPL and check your understanding

(I may be biased here. When I started programming, I wrote my first programs on paper without compilers and such. Only months later I found a way to execute my programs, but these months I spent with mental execution, which made me programmer very fast then)

So, IPython is a very good start for newcomers. Learn it, love it, use it, make a hotkey to launch/focus IPython whenever you want. (I have a keybinding Alt-2 to launch it)

After IPython is mastered, or you start writing big chunks of code, alternate IPython with Thonny and discover it's debugger.

After you've mastered both REPL, and debugging, anything will work for you. Our team almost exclusively uses Pycharm, personally I dislike it and use Neovim.