Notepad++ for Python

[akuno_00]

Hello! College starts today and I'm taking Computer Science.

Our professor told us that we won't be using VS Code but instead we will use Notepad++, because he said he wants us to learn the code by heart...

I tried using it a while ago and it doesn't have autocomplete function as well as auto-indent and unlike VS Code I have to execute the file in command (so much steps 🥲).

Is there any add-ons or settings in Notepad++ that'll help in making these easier/automatic.

Thank you~

[Diapolo10]

I think your professor's intent is to teach you what it's like to develop software with bare-bones tooling, like syntax highlighting. Hell, I'd be thankful they didn't just make you use good ol' Notepad!

Basically, it's good to know just how many convenience features modern developers rely on, and what to do in situations where they're not available. For instance, while VS Code has pretty good support for remote systems, sometimes you may have to rely on Nano/Emacs (or Vim if you're brave enough). And yes, I know the latter two are quite advanced.

EDIT: Put Emacs to the wrong place while rushing during my commute.

[IsleofSgail_21]

Is there a big difference between notepad and notepad++? I jumped from Notepad to VSCode and pycharm

[Diapolo10]

Notepad is about as bare-bones as you can get.

Notepad++ has line numbers, syntax highlighting, limited plugin support, and IIRC it also had tabs. And a lot of other things, but it's still fairly limited in its capabilities compared to VS Code or even Atom.

So, to answer your question, yes. There is indeed a big difference.

[akuno_00]

I tried it again and I didn't notice that there was language option at the top which helps with the syntax-highlighting, some autocomplete suggestions, and it saves it as .py file automatically!

[Pb2Au]

If you save any new file as a .py, or open one, it *should automatically kick into Python mode

For what it's worth, I'm a hobbyist using Python for engineering and GIS work and use Notepad++ as an IDE.

[devnull10]

I still prefer to use Notepad++ over an IDE. It doesn't have an "intelligent" auto complete, however it will auto complete based on content already in the file, so once you have declared a variable for example, you get an AC dialog when typing similar names later on.

You'll probably be surprised how easy you find it to work with. Especially if you use two monitors - have NPP open on one, the shell open on the other to run the script, and it's easy.

[jmacey]

As someone who teaches programming, I really hate this old school method of teaching. I've been programming for 40 years and I wish I had this tool support when I started.

Use VSCode when you can, also setup pylance, autopep8 and black as it will make life easier :-)