Spyder – The Scientific Python IDE for Data Science

I don’t know how many of our readers are research scientists, data analysts, etc. but today, we introduce an IDE that is ideal for Python development and it goes by the name of Spyder.

Spyder is an Open Source IDE written in Python for Python development with a focus on research, data analysis, and scientific package creation. It boasts a well-planned User Interface with interactive options, customizable layouts, and toggle-able sections.

Its features include a multi-language editor with automatic code completion, real-time code analysis, go-to definitions, etc. It also contains a history log, developer tools, a documentation viewer, a variable explorer, and an interactive console, among other perks.

Spyder was funded by Anaconda, Inc was funded for 18 months until mid-November 2017 after which development shifted to maintaining Spyder 3 at a slower pace while the team is still working on releasing Spyder 4 soon.

It is with this in mind that the dev team appeals to the open source community to support in the form of finances, code contribution, etc. so they can speed up development pace and keep Sypder going. You can read more on this issue here.

Features in Spyder

  • Cross-Platform – available for Linux, Windows, and macOS.
  • Free and Open Source – see the different ways you can contribute to the Spyder project here.
  • Syntax Highlighting.
  • Multi-language support.
  • Interactive console.
  • Variable explorer.
  • Documentation viewer, graph and data visualizations, etc.
  • Go-to definitions & Find in files.
  • Support for function extensions via plugins and APIs.

Spyder is aimed at scientists, data analysts, and engineers but that doesn’t mean students and independent Python coders can’t enjoy its plethora of features. if the IDE doesn’t come with the tools you need built-in you can always plug-in yours thanks to the many free extensions available for it along with its API integration support.

You’ll be using your Linux distro’s package manager (e.g. apt-get & yum,) to install Spyder up on your machine as shown.

$ sudo apt-get install spyder   [On Debian/Ubuntu]
$ sudo yum install spyder       [On CentOS/RHEL]  
$ sudo dnf install spyder       [On Fedora]

For other Linux distributions, you can follow the instructions at below link.

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Have you got any suggestions, tips, app experiences, etc for us? Feel free to use the comments section below.

Divine Okoi is a cybersecurity postgrad with a passion for the open-source community. With 700+ articles covering different topics in IT, you can always trust him to inform you about the coolest tech.

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