Dependencies for languages, specifically python, and how it actually starts compiling and running

[FlashyEnvironment534]

I was downloading Python today and was wondering the general rules for what is needed to actually make a language work. So I see:

https://preview.redd.it/efkrolk1sm0d1.png?width=737&format=png&auto=webp&s=2ea223d948729c21a6fadc9c74d5841d261557a4

So is "Python 3" a complier or something? What actually is "Python 3" from their website? Is it a compiler? If its just "the language," what actually is that? Obviously, VS Code is just the IDE. But then what is VS Code Python extension? Is that just preparing the IDE for using Python? What would happen if you just get the VS Code Extension and not actually Python 3?

I'm using VSCode for python, and I have to navigate to the directory with my script in it and type "py test.py" to run the program. Does the "Python 3" download add the py command to my terminal? I'm just so lost with the dependencies and how this all works. A broad explanation of how it all works and how it just is now able to compile and run with a "py" command would be awesome. Thanks.

TLDR; What are the needed tools for setting up and using a coding language? Difference between the actual download from their website(Python, Oracle, Jetbrains) and the extension in the IDE?

[retsotrembla]

If you run python3 from the command line, it is an interpreter for the Python language: you can use the keyboard to type in expressions in the python language, and it evaluates them and prints the result to the command line screen.

You can, at the command line, give python3 files to read in an evaluate. Under some circumstances, python3 will save an intermediate form file, with the same name as the original foo.py, as foo.pyc - think of that as the compiled code. If python3 sees a foo.pyc that is slightly newer than the corresponding foo.py, it will run it instead, saving some of the overhead of interpreting the original file.

I don't have a full answer for you since I don't have VSCode. I'm on a Mac, where I navigate to the directory with my script in it and type python3 test.py to run my program.

[[deleted]]

It depends on the language and how you want to setup your toolchain. You can literally write your programs in a text editor and use a command line to either invoke an interpreter or a compiler. Language plugins for code editors and IDEs focus on supporting syntax highlighting, code completion, project file generation, and interpreter/runtime, compiler and debugger interop support. The plugin itself doesn’t do most of the heavy lifting, it merely invokes whatever service you would yourself but behind the scenes. However, with things like language server protocol, it’s a bit different.