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PyCharm Community Edition VS iPython

Compare PyCharm Community Edition VS iPython and see what are their differences

PyCharm Community Edition logo PyCharm Community Edition

"The intelligent Python IDE with unique code assistance and analysis, for productive Python development on all levels."

iPython logo iPython

iPython provides a rich toolkit to help you make the most out of using Python interactively.
  • PyCharm Community Edition Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-06
  • iPython Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-07

PyCharm Community Edition features and specs

  • Free and Open Source
    PyCharm Community Edition is free to use and open source under the Apache 2.0 license, making it accessible for individual developers and small teams who do not have the budget for a paid IDE.
  • Intelligent Code Editor
    The IDE provides smart code completion, code inspections, on-the-fly error highlighting, and quick-fixes, which greatly enhance the productivity of developers.
  • Integrated Version Control
    PyCharm Community Edition supports version control systems like Git, SVN, and Mercurial, allowing developers to manage changes and collaborate with team members easily.
  • Cross-Platform
    The IDE is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring developers can work on their preferred operating system without compatibility issues.
  • Debugger and Testing
    PyCharm Community Edition includes a built-in debugger and test runner, which helps developers debug their code and run unit tests efficiently.

Possible disadvantages of PyCharm Community Edition

  • Limited Features
    Compared to the Professional Edition, the Community Edition lacks advanced features such as web development support, database tools, and scientific tools, which might be necessary for certain projects.
  • Performance
    As with many comprehensive IDEs, PyCharm can be resource-intensive, resulting in slower performance on machines with limited hardware resources.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    For beginners who are new to IDEs, the interface and multitude of features might be overwhelming and require time to become accustomed to.
  • Limited Language Support
    The Community Edition focuses primarily on Python, so developers working with additional languages may find the lack of extensive language support limiting.

iPython features and specs

  • Interactive Computing
    IPython provides a rich toolkit to help you make the most out of using Python interactively. This includes powerful introspection, rich media display, session logging, and more.
  • Ease of Use
    IPython includes features like syntax highlighting, tab completion, and easy access to the help system, which make writing and understanding code easier for users.
  • Rich Display System
    It supports rich media like images, videos, LaTeX, and HTML, making it very useful for data visualization and educational purposes.
  • Extensibility
    IPython is highly extensible and can be customized with a range of plugins, extensions, and different backends to suit various needs.
  • Enhanced Debugging
    It features enhanced debugging capabilities, including an improved traceback support and better handling of exceptions.

Possible disadvantages of iPython

  • Learning Curve
    For beginners, the extensive feature set of IPython may be overwhelming and have a steep learning curve.
  • Resource Intensive
    IPython, particularly Jupyter notebooks, can be resource-intensive, leading to slow performance on large datasets or complex computations.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies can be challenging, especially when using multiple packages in the same environment, which can lead to conflicts.
  • Limited IDE Features
    While IPython has many interactive features, it lacks some of the more advanced IDE features such as comprehensive code refactoring tools and integrated version control.
  • Exporting and Sharing
    Although you can export notebooks in various formats, sharing them in a way that preserves full interactivity can be complex compared to traditional scripts.

Analysis of iPython

Overall verdict

  • Yes, iPython is highly regarded for its flexibility, powerful features, and ability to enhance productivity in data analysis and scientific computing. It serves as an integral tool for many professionals in technical fields.

Why this product is good

  • iPython, which forms the backbone of the Jupyter ecosystem, is favored for its interactive capabilities, integration with various data science libraries, and support for visualizations. It allows seamless execution of code in a web-based environment, making it highly effective for experiments, rapid prototyping, and sharing insights.

Recommended for

  • Data Scientists
  • Researchers
  • Educators
  • Software Developers
  • Anyone interested in interactive and exploratory computing

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PyCharm Community Edition and iPython)
IDE
41 41%
59% 59
Python IDE
22 22%
78% 78
Text Editors
34 34%
66% 66
Software Development
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, iPython seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 19 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

PyCharm Community Edition mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of PyCharm Community Edition yet. Tracking of PyCharm Community Edition recommendations started around Mar 2021.

iPython mentions (19)

  • Modern Python REPL in Emacs using VTerm
    As alluded to in Poetry2Nix Development Flake with Matplotlib GTK Support, I’m currently in the process of getting my “new” python workflow up to speed. My second problem, after dependency and environment management, was that fancy REPLs like ipython or ptpython don’t jazz well with the standard comint based inferior python repl that comes with python-mode. One can basically only run ipython with the... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Wanting to learn how to code, but completely lost.
    Third, if possible use a command line interpreter to test things out. I recommend ipython for this purpose. You can use your browser's developer console this way if you are learning Javascript. Source: about 2 years ago
  • IJulia: The Julia Notebook
    IJulia is an interactive notebook environment powered by the Julia programming language. Its backend is integrated with that of the Jupyter environment. The interface is web-based, similar to the iPython notebook. It is open-source and cross-platform. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • How to "end" a loop in the REPL?
    Also, take a look at installing iPthon to give you a much richer shell environment. This underpins Jupyter Notebooks, so is well known, proven and trusted. Source: about 2 years ago
  • State of Object Oriented Shells for *nix
    I know this isn't quite what you're asking for, but IPython (https://ipython.org/) is very capable as a Python + bash (or other) shell, as it allows you to easily integrate the system shell into the interactive environment. Although they now recommend Xonsh (https://xon.sh/) for such purposes. Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing PyCharm Community Edition and iPython, you can also consider the following products

PyScripter - PyScripter is a free and open-source Python Integrated Development Environment (IDE) created with...

PyCharm - Python & Django IDE with intelligent code completion, on-the-fly error checking, quick-fixes, and much more...

Jupyter - Project Jupyter exists to develop open-source software, open-standards, and services for interactive computing across dozens of programming languages. Ready to get started? Try it in your browser Install the Notebook.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

IDLE - Default IDE which come installed with the Python programming language.

Geany - Lightweight IDE for Linux and Windows