What OS? IDEs are overkill, bloated, complex and slow for agile languages like Python. You need an editor that is nimble, fast, simple, powerful and doesn't get in your way. For linux, I suggest Scribes. http://scribes.sf.net http://scribes.sf.net/snippets.htm (Flash Demo) http://www.minds.nuim.ie/~dez/images/blog/scribes.html (GIF Demo)