Code editor
For readers at home: this chapter is covered in the Installing Python & Code Editor video.
You're about to write your first line of code, so it's time to download a code editor!
If you're using a Chromebook, skip this chapter and make sure you follow the Chromebook Setup instructions. The cloud IDE you chose (PaizaCloud Cloud IDE or AWS Cloud9) includes a code editor, and when you open a file in your IDE from the File menu, you will automatically be using the editor.
Note You might have done this earlier in the Installation chapter – if so, you can skip right ahead to the next chapter!
There are a lot of different editors and it largely boils down to personal preference. Most Python programmers use complex but extremely powerful IDEs (Integrated Development Environments), such as VSCode and PyCharm.
Our suggestions are below, all of which either have strong built in support for Python and Javascript programming, or have a rich library of extensions and plugins to support a wide range of functionality and features.
Visual Studio Code/VSCodium
Visual Studio Code is a source code editor developed by Microsoft for Windows, Linux and macOS. It includes support for debugging, embedded Git control, syntax highlighting, intelligent code completion, snippets, and code refactoring.
Visual Studio Code is built around an open source core, but the released software is under a proprietary license. If you would prefer a free/libre version of Visual Studio Code, VSCodium releases a free build that contains no telemetry or tracking, and no proprietary software.
PyCharm
PyCharm is another popular editor. Its community edition is free, open-source and available for Windows, OS X and Linux. PyCharm is developed by JetBrains.
Sublime Text
Sublime Text is a very popular editor with a free evaluation period and it's available for all operating systems.
Why are we installing a code editor?
You might be wondering why we are installing this special code editor software, rather than using something like Word or Notepad.
The first reason is that code needs to be plain text, and the problem with programs like Word and Textedit is that they don't actually produce plain text, they produce rich text (with fonts and formatting), using custom formats like RTF (Rich Text Format).
The second reason is that code editors are specialized for editing code, so they can provide helpful features like highlighting code with color according to its meaning, or automatically closing quotes for you.
We'll see all this in action later. Soon, you'll come to think of your trusty old code editor as one of your favorite tools. :)