Python in Eclipse ( PyDev )

Eclipse is an excellent choice for beginning programmers not just because of its feature rich interface, but also for its support for many programming languages.  These days, I would suggest starting with C/C++ then move to Java and last try to also learn Python for a "well rounded" computer science skill arsenal.  

Installation steps

1. Download the latest Java JDK

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html

2. Download Eclipse IDE

https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/

3. Download Python

https://www.python.org/downloads/

4. When Eclipse is running and the workspace is configured, you can just drag and drop the PyDev icon directly from the browser to the Eclipse workspace or install it manually. 

Browser drop: http://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/pydev-python-ide-eclipse 

 

PyDEv requirements, at least one of:

• Python (2.2 or newer)
• Jython (2.2 or newer)
• IronPython (2.6 or newer)
  

and Eclipse (3.8/4.3 onwards)

Click on Help and then Install New Software ....  Add the source to PyDev ( http://pydev.org/updates  ) and select the PyDev software installation.  It will take a few minutes to install and you will need to restart Eclipse for the installation to finish. 

Your First Project

That is all that you will need to install Python in your Eclipse IDE and start developing software in this new language. 

You can create a new Python PyDev module and quickly learn the basics.

File->New -> PyDev Module

Give it a name like “testProject” and leave everything else default.  If you receive a message when you create the PyDev module about the interpreter not being configured, just select the auto configuration option or manually point your IDE to the python.exe file from the path you chose to install Python into.

Example Code and Output

import sys

'Examples from: https://wiki.python.org/moin/SimplePrograms'

parents, babies = (1, 1)

while babies < 100:

print 'This generation has {0} babies'.format(babies)

parents, babies = (babies, parents + babies)

# This program adds up integers in the command line

try:

total = sum(int(arg) for arg in sys.argv[1:])

print 'sum =', total

except ValueError:

print 'Please supply integer arguments'

Output:

This generation has 1 babies

This generation has 2 babies

This generation has 3 babies

This generation has 5 babies

This generation has 8 babies

This generation has 13 babies

This generation has 21 babies

This generation has 34 babies

This generation has 55 babies

This generation has 89 babies

sum = 1500