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Python IDE for Mac OS X?
benbranch asks: "I am presently learning the Python programming language. The language itself is brilliant and seems very easy to pick up, however my problem is finding a decent IDE. I use Mac OS X (as Windows is excruciating), and though I love Linux (Debian/Ubuntu) all my work computers are Mac's. Can anyone advise me as too a good open source IDE for Mac? If there are any Python programmers out there using Macs, I would love to hear from you."
...this list of Python Editors?
Quite a lot of them work on OS X, and personally I would recomend eclipse (although I have only used it with Java, so I do not know how well it works with Python).
i'm in a similar situation, having just bought my first mac, but i'm looking for ruby ide's. os x is fantastic, and so far ahead of desktop linux, i dont want to go back. one thing that lets it down though, are the ide's available. i've settled on eclipse, since it handles python, ruby etc. you do need to install python/ruby support, but it's easily done. the python extensions can be found here: pyDev
i wish i was but oh well
Aparently Objective C is perfect and all you need
If I'm learning a language (as opposed to working on a project with others), I find I seldom need all the bells and whistles an IDE provides.
t ml
I know of two text editors that provide excellent Python integration.
* BBEdit: http://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/index.sh
* Vim: http://macvim.org/OSX/index.php
I like Vim better for two reasons. First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words Don't Panic inscribed
in large friendly letters on its cover.
My father is a blogger.
you can download and IDE(PythonIDE) and extras from MacPython
i'm in the same boat, i just got a powerbook for christmas and i downloaded the stuff last night, wanting to learn some python.
i had trouble with the install, all the latest stuff is for 10.3 and i've got 10.4. the wiki FAQ can get you up and going. also has a package manager and you can download PyObjC, which is a "bridge" (wrapper class?) so you can code in python and use cocoa elements. just getting my mac a week ago, i don't actually know what much of the above means, but thats where i'm heading.
i don't care
The reason little Objective-C is used outside of the Apple/Cocoa world is that it isn't standardized. In order to make the most of it, you need to develop with some framework. Your main choices are either Cocoa or Openstep. That said, Cocoa is Mac only (for now... I have my eye on the upcoming expo) and Openstep is lagging behind in many areas.
That said, you don't need either of them to use Objective-C. GCC comes with a standard "Object" that everything else can inherit from. The problem is that, while you get all of Objective-C, you get none of the lovely frameworks; You're stuck with the standard C library. Depending on what you're doing, this may or may not be a problem.
I personally think Objective-C is a fine choice for cross-platform development sans-frameworks IF:
1. You'd be comfortable doing it with C
2. You're doing largely lower level work or non GUI-work (in which case you'd need to use Openstep)
3. You *like* C, but wouldn't mind getting some objects to go along with it.
4. You're willing to accept a performance hit for message sends versus function calls (minor though, about 1.7x).
5. You'd like to take advantage of some of Obj-C's special features that GCC provides (dynamic module loading, etc)
The problem isn't that Objective-C is a "bad" language. It is rather good actually. The problem is that either you're using Openstep for crossplatform development, which, while I *have not done*, I hear is rough, or you're going in with only the standard C library. If you think of Objective-C as some simple additions to C to make your programming easier, more maintainable, and more enjoyable, then it can be a very useful tool. Just don't expect anything else from it unless you're on the Mac platform or are willing to deal with Openstep.
In summary, Objective-C sans-frameworks can serve as a good replacement for C in a lot of cases where performance is important but not critical, and as a replacement for C++ in some cases (C++ comes with so much more than Objective-C out of the box).
Incidentally, the Eclipse plugin is called PyDev.
It seriously rocks, all the Eclipse goodness + code completion for Python. I tend to prefer it to other Python IDE's these days, esp. now that Eclipse 3.1 is not a slow dog anymore.
Save your wrists today - switch to Dvorak
.. like all the other Python coders on the Mac. While you're at it, check out PyObC. It gives you full access to all of Apple's Obj-C frameworks from Python.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I've tried lots of different development systems for Python. I'm currently sold on Emacs being the best. For C++/Java/C# the computer has the typing information to help with the development process, so IDE's for those languages/platforms can help quite a bit. But IDE's can't help nearly as much with Python.
I've used Wing IDE quite a bit and it is pretty good. It does help organize projects and can do some code completion (but not nearly as good as IDEs for Java et al). It would be my recommendation for anyone who needs a transition tool.
I've played with Leo a little bit, but not enough to make any serious recommendation. But the philosophy is really sound. It really does the trick for organization. If it had a better text editor, I would give it more serious consideration.
I've always been a Vim fan. Nothing can beat it for editing text, but I think its Python mode is less than stellar. I prefer my tabs converted to spaces, but the python mode doesn't understand it enough to handle backspaces properly.
Emacs with python mode is really doing it for me. The real kicker is having the interpreter and the editing buffer in the same window. Being able to switch back and forth and make changes and test them in a live environment is a whole new world. That instant feedback leads to a more iterative development process that makes coding more fun and, in my experience, just plain better. Not to mention that is available on every platform and very responsive. Highly recommended.