i am going to get crazy!!!

[Carlos Ribeiro]

On 14 Sep 2004 17:15:39 -0700, andresm <xv0017python at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I cant believe there is no single decent open source for python, all
> them miss some of the most core features an ide should have, i just
> cant believe this!!! I have been looking for a decent ide for one
> weak, i have tried all of them, all. the only kick ass one is ipython,
> but thats a shell that shows how an ide should be.

If you look at it, I've been discussing IDEs in this forum over the
past few days. I have probably heard every possible tip regarding all
alternatives available, many on list, and several others off list.
I'll tell you what I have found so far.

-- There are two classes of developers: those who like IDEs and those
who doesn't. The latter camp includes people that swear by Emacs, VIM,
and stuff like that. I don't mean to sound badly, but such people
don't get what's the fuss about a good IDE. They come from another
background, and normally write another type of software, one that
doesn't need such "fancy" gadgetry to work. Don't try to argue with
them -- there's no right and wrong here, just different styles at
work.

-- If you listen to the IDE camp only, then you can still separate a
few groups.

1) If all that you need is a good editor with syntax coloring and a
few Python niceties, then you have several options -- free and
commercial. All Scintilla-based editors offer at least some basic
functionality. Light IDEs like PythonWin and DrPython offer automatic
code completion, block indent/outdent, and quick access to the
documentation. Good text editors such as EditPlus are also useful,
albeit less featured in their support for Python.

2) Some people understand IDEs as full fledged, highly flexible
programming environments. In this camp you can evaluate ActiveState's
Komodo and Boa Constructor. Komodo is a high quality commercial
product; Boa is free, well structured, still incomplete at parts, but
it works fairly well. I would like to point you to Wing IDE, but I
could not run the beta version that I've installed. Your mileage may
vary.

3) There are a few non-integrated design tools that provide parts of
what you expect from a good IDE. wxGlade is one such example -- it's a
GUI builder for wxPython that can be used together with other tools,
such as SPE - Stan's Python Editor, or any other light IDE I've
mentioned on item (1).

4) PythonCard is slightly different in that it's based on Hypercard.
It's a IDE in some senses, but it's simpler than Boa, and uses a
slightly different paradigm.

For now, it's late, and I really have to sleep now :-) I hope to have
helped. Feel free to drop me a line if you're still in need of help.


-- 
Carlos Ribeiro
Consultoria em Projetos
blog: http://rascunhosrotos.blogspot.com
blog: http://pythonnotes.blogspot.com
mail: carribeiro at gmail.com
mail: carribeiro at yahoo.com