Nowadays, many programmers are opting for Python to create applications with a clean, readable and concise codebase. Custom software application development can also be accelerated by taking advantage of several IDE (Integrated Development Environments) for Python.
What Is PyCharm?
PyCharm is a cross-platform integrated development environment (IDE), designed for Python programmers. It is meant to accommodate all the tooling that is required to enhance the productivity of a Python programmer. It includes code compilation, syntax highlighting, Project navigation, database tooling, and a programming text editor to leverage web development.
Just like Python, PyCharm is one of the most widely used IDE for programming language. Currently, influencing enterprises including Twitter, Symantec, and Pinterest are using Python. One of the advantages of using PyCharm is that it provides API to developers and enables them to write their own plugins to extend features.
PyCharm is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS along with their set of tools and characteristics. It enables Python programmers to save a lot of time while writing in a variety of applications efficiently.
PyCharm UI can be customized according to the preferences and needs of developers. Moreover, there are a variety of options by which an IDE can be extended from over 50 plugins. Undoubtedly, the program is designed to meet the requirements of complex projects as PyCharm Community Edition. It is an open-source version that is available since 22 October 2013 to the users worldwide.
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What Features PyCharm offered?
Below are some primary working features offered by PyCharm to the developer’s:
- Python refactoring includes extract method, introduce constant, rename, introduce variable, pull-up, push down and others.
- Integrated python debugger.
- Python development for the Google app engine.
- Web framework support for Flask, Django and web2py.
- Coding assistance and analysis with syntax and error highlighting, linter integration, code completion and quick fixes.
- Code and project navigation that is specialized in file structure views, project views, quick jumping between classes, files, usages, and methods.
- Version control integration that creates a unified user interface for Perforce, Subversion, Mercurial, Git and CVS.
- Line by line integrated unit coverage code testing.
Why is PyCharm mandatory for Python Programmers?
1. Code Editing
PyCharm’s intelligent code editor enables programmers to write high-quality code for Python. Programmers can read codes via color schemes, appropriate coding style, insert indents and can avail context-aware code completion suggestions. Also, it enables programmers to use editor for code block expansion to express a logical block. It gets them to avail code snippets, identifies errors, format the code base, detects duplicate code, checks misspellings, and auto-generate code. Hence, it is much easier for developers to analyze and identify code errors while writing.
2. Code Navigation
PyCharm provides smart code navigation that helps programmers to improve and edit code without additional effort while saving time. It is much assessable for programmers to reach for a class and file symbols and go to the declarations that are evoked from references, thanks to the IDE. This enables the user to find an element in source code, UI, snippet code or even in user action quickly. With this, they can locate set bookmarks and determine the usage of symbols. Also, developers can be benefited from the code navigation feature that scrutinizes the entire code in lens mode at the same time.
3. Refactoring
Developers can quickly implement both local and international changes instantly and smartly. PyCharm provides developers with the decisive advantage of refactoring options while working with python framework and building plain python codes. Refactoring of classes, files, methods, functions, properties, parameters, and both local and global variables can be availed by renaming or changing their locations. Moreover, code quality can be improved extracting variables, constants, fields, and parameters. Thanks to PyCharm, programmers can now break more extended methods and classes via the extract method.
4. Support for Popular Web Technologies
Programmers can write a number of web applications in Python, due to IDE PyCharm. As mentioned above, it supports some widely used technologies like; JavaScript, CSS, HTML, CoffeeScript, and TypeScript. PyCharm provides live editing preview option to web developers that let them view a single web page simultaneously in both editor and browser. Moreover, IDE enables programmers to see changes made to the code on a web browser instantly at the same time. The story doesn’t end here, PyCharm offers developers with a JavaScript, CoffeeScript and TypeScript debugger by simplifying isomorphic web application development supporting NodeJS and AngularJS.
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5. Database Tools
Just like supporting a number of python libraries and frameworks, PyCharm helps web developers to work with databases of their choice including; SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL and Oracle.it gives a fairground to developers for using IDE to alter table data, browse data, run queries, alter/analyze schemas and edit SQL code. It further supports the SQLAlchemy library by injecting SQL code to writing for many programming languages. Fortunately, the professional edition of PyCharm has made it easier to handle large data volumes efficiently via data grids for web developers.
6. Support for Python Scientific Libraries
PyCharm helps programmers to work in Python by supporting and processing big data. It efficiently collaborates with a wide range of scientific libraries like Matplotlib, Anaconda, and NumPy. These scientific libraries of Python can be defined by availing deep code insight, array viewers and interactive graphs provided to work efficiently. REPL Python console can be run, provided by PyCharm and developers can further avail significant features like code inspection and on-the-fly syntax check. Also, Web developers can integrate IDE with IPython Notebook seamlessly at the same time to build innovative solutions without additional efforts and wasting much time.
7. Built-in Terminal
The built-in local terminals of PyCharm for Linux, macOS, and windows enable developers to do coding and testing without breaking continuity and leaving the IDE. Developers can also use IDE to configure and customize Python environments to run Python files to precise project specifications and requirements accordingly. The console features automatic braces matching, code completion, and dynamic syntax change. Programmers can directly run Django consoled or interactive Python at the same time in the IDE. PyCharm offers an option to developers for integration with both remote and remote interpreters.
8. Support for Popular Python Web Frameworks
PyCharm offers a first-class support system to the complicated web framework of Python. This feature enables developers to use the IDE for availing code completion suggestions for parameters, filters, tags, and template variables. They can gather and process every kind of complicated data about filters and stickers by quickly referring to the documentation. Python supports developers to debug templates, code formatting, verifying and managing for Django consoles. At the same time, widely used web frameworks of Python, including Web2Py and Pyramid, are compatible with Python providing navigation options and code compilation that are specific to the pyramid.
9. Visual Debugger
Visual debugging provided by PyCharm for python programmers offers to debug of JavaScript and Django code. Web developers can use inline debugging to see live debugging data on the editor database, which is directly connected to the server. Likewise, PyCharm creates customizable and reusable configurations for both debugging execution and testing script. They can further have choices to integrate visual debugger to facilitate remote debugging by remote interpreters.
10. Support for Major Version Control Systems
With the help of PyCharm, web developers and programmers can now work with commonly used reliable version control systems including Mercurial, Perforce, Git, and SVN. They can perform complicated tasks of editing, adding and removing files automatically. PyCharm provides developers with the option to avail of a wide range of features to manage Python and IDE with the additional advantage of selecting a version control system of their own choice. They can group individual alterations into variable change lists along with restoring changes and monitoring them into the code repository of multiple users. Developers can see the alterations made to coding prior to integrating them into a local copy.
11. Software Testing
As mentioned above, PyCharm comes with a wide range of useful features when compared to other available IDEs in the market. It has been designed to make python application easy to test and simple to use. Undoubtedly, it allows programmers to perform unit testing via frameworks like Attest, Doctests, and Nose for Python. You can run the testing on individual files or multiple test classes. Furthermore, to measure codes, you can integrate IDE with Coverage.py during testing applications. Testers can also use thread currency visualization while testing a multi-threaded application offered by IDE to control application aspects efficiently. Lastly, users can deliver high-quality software that is functional and adaptable to implement behavior-driven development (BDD), thanks to PyCharm.
12. Remote Development Capabilities
With the integration of PyCharm to Python, web developers can connect with a variety of available IDE machines and software builds remotely and safely. It enables programmers to avail of the benefits of a built-in SSH console that is offered by an IDE. It makes sure developers can perform a number of development tasks by connecting to machines via SSH from a suitable location. Python applications can run, debug ad profile applications in an environment that is remote with the replacement of a local interpreter with your remote interpreter. Programmers can now create reproducible development environments via compatible tools including Vagrant for PyCharm, and it can be distributed through a network of applications for development like Docker. Programmers have the option to integrate tracking systems that work seamlessly with Python.
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Wrap Up
As mentioned above, PyCharm is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS along with their set of tools and characteristics. PyCharm enables Python programmers to save a lot of time while writing in a variety of applications efficiently. That is why PyCharm is a reliable and fantastic IDE for Python users. PyCharm is the only best option.
Ideally, you should license both of the programmings prior to usage. However, some of the community sites are offering a distinct edition of IDE to students and professionals both. So, what are you waiting for?
This article is written by Liza Brooke. She is a single mother and a passionate blogger. She loves to get herself updated with the latest trends. Currently, she is working as a Content Writer at Crowd Writer.