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What programmer tools (editors) are used/suggested to get started w/python, etc?

As a beginner, I'd like to learn a little bit about the code, etc., for askbot.

I was a basic, pascal, & shell programmer many, MANY years ago ;) I might like to learn and contribute to askbot if I can get myself up to speed with the language and tools.

I will be working on a Windows Vista laptop, and Win 7 desktop, if that matters.

Any reason I can't set up linux, python, etc., on my win box and test out the script before launching a site? What package(s) would you use to do this in the most expeditious manner?

Actually, I think maybe I'd bet better off with a host and simply doing the editing, etc., from my pc than trying to 'do it all' from home. A small hosting fee is no problem. I'd like recommendation for a USA host that'll let me start cheap (VPS) and has capabilities to scale me up to ded machine when needed.

Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks!

Brett's avatar
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Brett
updated 2011-09-07 01:22:49 -0600, asked 2011-09-07 01:21:47 -0600
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Hi Bret.

For windows there some pretty good editors, easy to use. Take your time to try them and customize them to your needs.

Also there are some IDEs but I would not recommend you :-)

The setup for a windows environment is described here also be sure to install all the windows packages requirements for askbot (virtualenv, python-pip, your database driver) some of that is documented on the https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/topics/install">oficial django documentation.

There are plenty material to learn python/django online to learn python use this book and for django there are some books but a good start is to read the official documentation online.

For cheap VPS service you can use VPS link or Lowendbox

I hope that it helps!

Fitoria's avatar
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Fitoria
answered 2011-09-07 07:40:33 -0600
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I'd add - of the python tools - use virtual environment (virtualenv) and pylint. The first helps you isolate requirements per-project - so you won't have to worry about breaking something by installing some library. Pylint gives good recommendations about the code and helps catch errors early.

Evgeny's avatar Evgeny (2011-09-07 08:03:45 -0600) edit
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Another good tool is pdb - python debugger. Insert two lines anywhere in your code: import pdb and pdb.set_trace() and you drop into a debugger shell that allows you to step through the code.

Evgeny's avatar Evgeny (2011-09-07 08:06:04 -0600) edit
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Use pip to install and uninstall python packages, also pick up some source code management tool. Askbot uses git.

Evgeny's avatar Evgeny (2011-09-07 08:40:46 -0600) edit
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Thanks @Fitoria for all the great info! I should note that I'm not afraid of an IDE; I like the features of an IDE which make editing code much easier. I tried notepad++ and like it but I do like features such as auto indenting, etc., which simple editors dont seem to have (from what I understand). @Evgeny I think I prefer an IDE which includes pylint be default/extension. There are so many editor/IDE choices, it is a bit overwhelming for a newbie ;) I'm leaning towards pyscripter: http://code.google.com/p/pyscripter/ -What do you think of this one?

Brett's avatar Brett (2011-09-07 16:05:36 -0600) edit
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@Brett I can only speak for myself, I use vim. The problem with ide's is that you will start depending on them, I hear people who use IDE exclusively say that they feel helpless when working in a plain text editor, but you occasionally have to do that - especially when administering remote servers. I've seen many very good programmers work in vim or emacs, so IDEs being the good tools they are - are not required to write the code.

Evgeny's avatar Evgeny (2011-09-07 16:13:09 -0600) edit
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