Data is the new oil in today’s world, and Data Science is the study revolving around ‘data’. Data Science is a domain of study dealing with huge data sets using techniques and machine learning algorithms to help find and study the information and patterns to make business decisions. It works upon building predictive models for the data.
Python is the most widespread language used for artificial intelligence and machine learning model. It holds the vast application for data scientists thriving to build efficient patterns and predictive models.
In this article, we will see the top 7 Python text editors and integrated development environments (IDEs) that can be used for creating data science applications.
Sublime
Initially released on January 18, 2008, Sublime is a cross-platform source code editor. It is a free text editor, which offers paid versions as well. It supports multiple programming and mark-up languages, but its best part is the add-on functions and plug-ins that add many extended features making the software easy to use. You can also customise the looks of the editor and also make connections with platforms such as GitHub.
Sublime is available for download and use on Windows, Mac and Linux.
You can download Sublime here
Also read: Python vs Java vs C/C++: Key differences and Pros-Cons.
Spyder
Scientific Python development environment or Spyder was released on October 18, 2009. It is an open-source, cross-platform software used mainly for scientific programming. It is much lighter than most other IDEs and also has an interactive coding mode that allows data analysis in real-time. Sypder has an integrated debugger and a graphic debugger that makes your debugging process a piece of cake. It also comes with pre-installed packages like NumPy, SciPy and others, and gives you the freedom to divide your code into sections that give you a better look at the code.
Spyder is available for download and use on Windows, macOS, Linux and Qt.
You can download Spyder here
Visual Studio Code
Developed by Microsoft, Visual Studio Code is relatively new and was released on April 29, 2015. It is a free source-code editor used by Python, C, C#, and JavaScript programmers and offers a paid version. It is an easy software for beginners that providers pointers and hints to define functions or correct minor errors. The Visual Studio Code integrates well with PyLint and also performs read-evaluate-print loop operations.
Visual Studio Code is available for Windows, Linux and macOS.
You can download Visual Studio Code here
Also read: How to split Python strings?
Atom
Developed by GitHub, Atom was launched on 26 February 2014. It is a free and open-source desktop application that is very well integrated with GitHub and is used for Java, Ruby on Rails and Python upon customisation. It offers multiple plug-ins that contribute significantly to building data science applications. Atom has a great and active community always on their toes, working towards making it even better.
Atom is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
You can download Atom here
Jupyter
Jupyter, short for Julia, Python, and R was launched in 2015 and is one of the most common and favourite text-editors for Python programmers due to its ease of navigation and use. The Jupyter community supports interactive scientific computing and data science applications across all programming languages. Jupyter Notebooks are free and open-source software and require the basic anaconda prompt. They are extremely versatile and make file sharing very easy. It also gives the freedom to mix bits of codes from different languages like HTML, markdown and LaTeX. Jupyter notebook also has an extension known as the Jupyter Lab which is an upgrade to the notebook.
Jupyter is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
You can install Jupyter here
To install the Jupyter notebook, type pip install notebook in the anaconda prompt.
Also read: What is an abstract class in Python?
PyCharm
Launched on 3 February 2010 by JetBrains, PyCharm is an IDE developed for Python originally and has now extended to multiple other programming languages. It has three editions, namely Professional, Community and Educational. PyCharm allows GitHub integration and also has a feature of highlighting errors within the code. It provides a huge number of plug-ins. The code editor can be customised to your mind’s peace, and the graphical debugger is a huge add-on.
PyCharm is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
You can install PyCharm here
Thonny
Thonny is a Python IDE designed especially for beginners. It is a cross-platform application that highlights syntax errors and supports code completion. Using its simple debugger, you can run the code line-by-line. One feature that sets Thonny apart is its function editing. A new window opens, naming all the local variables present and displaying the code in the main function while editing a given function.
Thonny is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
You can install Thonny here
Also read: What’s the difference between C and C++?
