Find Your Feature Fit: How to Pick a Text Editor for Python Programming

This presentation will explore the different features of text editors for Python programming. By comparing the capabilities of VS Code and Vim, audiences of all skill levels will receive the necessary information to make an informed decision about which text editor fits their programming preferences. Using the illustrative example of a Python programmer who is implementing a Python program, the talk will introduce and compare features including fuzzy file finding and code navigation, auto-completion, source code highlighting, linting, testing, virtual environments, and snippets. For VS Code and Vim, these selected features showcase what is often important to a Python programmer, highlighting the trade-offs and benefits of both text editors. Here are some topics that we will cover in this presentation:

• Fuzzy File Finding: Rapidly search for files in your project with names that match a pattern.

• Source Code Highlighting: Bring clarity by applying colors and fonts to your source code and technical writing.

• Autocompletion: Save time by quickly substituting partial code and text segments with the desired content.

• Linting and Code Formatting: Check and reformat source code and writing to ensure adherence to well-established style guides.

• Virtual Environments and Packages: Maintain project isolation by installing and managing packages in separate development and execution environments.

• Automated Testing and Debugging: Establish a confidence in program correctness by running test suites and finding and fixing bugs.

• Code Snippets: Save time when programming and testing by inserting full segments based on easy-to-complete keywords.

Ultimately, this presentation will demonstrate that both VS Code and Vim are outstanding text editors for Python, with features that can assist in many everyday programming tasks. In different ways, and possibly with different disadvantages or benefits, these text editors improve a programmer's efficiency and effectiveness, becoming an indispensable part of an everyday workflow. With the knowledge of the features that VS Code and Vim offer, the audience will be able to choose which editor is best for them, emerging with the know-how to configure it to their preferences for Python programming. Both beginners and experts alike will be capable of finding their "feature fit" for a text editor that supports Python programming!