P3NK!N

It was brought to my attention in my last post that I should have a look at Komodo Edit, which is the free version of Komodo IDE, Scribes and Eric IDE for Python development.

1. Komodo Edit
I must admit I am not too sure how I missed this one. It seems to have quite nice features for an editor with one in particular catching my eye, “Multi-language editor including web templates Django“.

Basic features include:

1. Supports Python, PHP, Perl, Tlc, CSS, HTML, XML, RHTML, Template-Toolkit, Smarty and Django (a plus).
2. Project files.
3. A toolbox for anything from code snippets to URLS to macros to Run Commands.
4. Syntax highlighting.
5. Code folding.
6. Basic code completion.

To install Komodo Edit in Ubuntu go to the Komodo Edit website and click on the download link. Unfortunately you need to fill in some details in a form which annoys me more than it should Makes no real sense considering all they want is your name and company (email address is optional)?

Update :: The above is not true. You do not need to fill in the form as it is clearly stated on the page

To install it on Ubuntu (once you get to the actual download area), select “AS package (libcpp6)”. The archive contains an “install.sh” file which you can run in a Terminal window.

I must admit it has a very polished look and runs quite well. Quite customizable and smooth. Unfortunately, no pay means no debugging in the eyes of ActiveState. No interactive shells… etc.

2. Scribes
The first downfall for me that I see is that it seems to need the Gnome environment and I want an IDE and/or editor that runs well in both Windows and Linux. Hopefully that is not a need for any of you

Basic features include:

1. Extensible via Python plugins.
2. Remote editing (ftp, sftp, ssh, samba, webdav, webdavs)
3. Snippets.
4. Automatic word completion.
5. Automatic correction and replacement.
6. Automatic pair character completion and smart insertion.
7. Automatic indentation.
8. Powerful text processing and manipulation functions.
9. Bookmarks and smart navigation.
10. Document Switcher.
11. Syntax colours for over 30 language.

I like how simple it looks yet under the hood has some very nice features.

3. Eric IDE
This cross platform IDE looks quite impressive as well as clean. It boasts a huge amount of features that you can see by clicking the link above.

Basic features include:

1. Configurable window layout.
2. Configurable syntax highlighting.
3. Code completion.
4. Code folding.
5. Error highlighting.
6. Makro recordings.
7. Integrated class browser.
8. Integrated version control interface for CVS and Subversion repositories.
9. Integrated python debugger.
10. Integrated profiling and code coverage support.
11. Integrated task (todo items) management.
12. Refactoring tool.
13. A whole lot more…

I’m not sure if it’s just me but one of the prerequisite is that I have to install PyQt and wherever I look to get it I need to buy it.

Update :: Anton Nazarov has pointed out to me that PyQT has a dual license so it is GPL for GPL software. He does say that it is a mission to install on Windows which you can read on his blog. See his comments below

4. Opinions
I think over the last two posts I have given a few IDEs to choose from and like most things an IDE becomes a personal choice. They will all have their pros and cons for you. Choice comes to the one you get on with the best.

I think as I learn I will give them all a fair shot and see what I land up with. At the moment I am leaning towards SPE IDE.