Comment by spapas82 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by spapas82 | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

I am using Notepad++ (I'm a windows user) for more than 5 years for python/django development. Never regreted it - never found something better. I stuck to Notepad++ even when I was using a Mac for some months (through Wine) - I couldn't find something better or faster.

Everything else is way too slow (Atom, VS Code, pycharm) or way too inefficient (Vim / Emacs - inefficient for me they may be great for you) to replace Notepad++. An IDE is not really needed with python - it's not java - If you want to debug something just add a breakpoint to drop directly to your program (I have actually written a tutorial for that https://spapas.github.io/2016/06/07/django-werkzeug-debugger...) - you'll then have a full repl to do whatever you wish!

I really think that notepad++ is a great editor (at least for windows users) and should get more traction.

I had tried sublime text a bit and the only feature I found usefull that notepad++ lacks is the quick switch to file - but I can live without it, especially since Notepad++ is Open Source!

I also use Notepad++. Was starting to feel left out reading the comments. I roll up my sleeves and work with the junk behind the scenes manually. I think it somehow improves my understanding of how everything work.

Only if you haven't worked on Pycharm, you can say this. Try the latest Pycharm on a medium/big size project and you will understand. It is the best Python IDE out there, right now.

Nothing even comes close.

Pycharm is good - I've used it. However there are various disadvantatges to it:

a. It is not open source b. It is slow on my (Celeron based) PC c. I don't really need the capabilities of a full-flexed IDE (auto-completion, debug etc) for Python

Well, I think you are mistaken here. There is an Open Source Community Edition of all versions of Pycharm if you are so inclined to the Open Source. That is quite good enough. Celeron is quite old and slow and it is not fair to expect an IDE to work fast on that old PC. Though you can still disable some advanced features( inspections) and make it reasonably fast.

Again, it totally depends on the project you are working. For a reasonable sized project, you can do away with an editor. But with large codebases, IDE support is a great difference. And this is coming from someone who has been writing all his code on Vim for last 6 years or so. Basically, all you require is a productive environment that doesn't hold you back and enables you to write faster and correct code. For me and a lot of other people, Pycharm is quite that tool.

If you still have a .edu email address they offer a student license but I get the feeling you're doing non educational/hobbyist work so that might violate the TOS

Pycharm is good, but it really depends on the project size - I'd use Pycharm for larger projects, but at the same time I'll open smaller separate scripts in Sublime even if I have Pycharm already open.

I open vim inside Pycharm's Terminal but most of the time I don't really need to open Sublime/Vim.

Pycharm also have scratch file/buffer support and that is quite awesome for one off scripts.

Did you try sublime on OS X? I like notepad++ too, I'd say it's pretty interchangeable with sublime on Windows - but I'd be surprised if it on wine is better than sublime native.

No I didn't try it on OS X - I didn't have a license and, because I was going to use OS X for some months (not permanently) I'd bitten the bullet and went the wine-way.

Probably you are right though, if I was using OSX as my main OS I'd definitely consider buying a sublime license since there were some problems with the Notepad++ (mainly with its filesystem integration).

I'd say it's pretty interchangeable with sublime on Windows

Depends on usage maybe? Haven't used NPP in a while anymore, but IIRC it lacked built-in functionality or plugins for go to definition/got to anything/PEP8/Flake8/GitGutter/... which work as good as Sublime's?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com