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[Python-Dev] IDLE in the stdlib

Beni Paskin-Cherniavsky cben at users.sf.net
Thu Mar 21 03:30:10 CET 2013 
Eli Bendersky <eliben <at> gmail.com> writes:

> Oh, and another thing. If a Windows user wants a good Python shell,
> IDLE should be his last choice. There's Spyder, there's IPython,
> there's probably a bunch of others I'm not aware of.This is for IDLE
> as a shell. The same can be said for IDLE as an editor.This is
> precisely my main gripe with IDLE: it does a lot of things, but
> neither of them it does well.

Actually, there are surprisingly little competition to IDLE as a shell!
IDLE has mostly working multi-line editing and history, while most 
"sophisticated" environments (including Spyder) work line-by-line, which makes  
defining a function (let alone a class) in the shell prohibitively painful.

The only other shells I could recommend to a beginner are:
1. IPython, which of course does multi-line editing superbly.
   Its non-standard extensions are a distraction and it's too far into 
   power-user end of the spectrum to ever become a fits-all recommendation.
   The notebook is enough of a win to tip the scales for some educators,
   but the jury is still out if that's a smooth beginner experience.
2. Dreampie, designed by an ex-IDLE-contributor for the sole purpose of 
   being a better shell than IDLE.
   However, lack of an editor makes it less practical as an introductory tool.
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