Virtualenvwrapper makes virtualenv nicer to use.Įven if you're not worried about conflicts, virtualenv can help you make sure your demo still works years from now (especially important if you care about reproducible research). Instead, you want each Python project you create to have its own isolated ecosystem.
Usually, you do not want to install packages globally, for the entire system, because they may conflict with each other. Here's the short version: pip lets you install packages (Python libraries).
You may or may not be using virtualenv, however. Chances are, if you've been using Python already then you're already familiar with the pip package manager. You should also take the time to properly quarantine the dependencies for different projects. I have no experience with either of these so I can't talk too much about them. 1 Another possible alternative (if you do one-off, experimental scripts for science or research) is the IPython Notebook. The only reason I don't use P圜harm is it costs money (until now!). The only one better than PyDev is P圜harm. So please do take the time to set up a proper IDE. The debugger is absolutely invaluable and if you haven't been using it, you are de facto terrible at debugging. But most of all, the biggest win in using PyDev is the debugger. Managing your application launch configurations is another convenience that seems so minor you don't appreciate how useful it really is. I get mad when I'm working outside of a proper editor (vim and emacs are not proper editors, and neither is IDLE). Just the use of the Eclipse editor alone will make for a much nicer programming experience. If you are one of these people, please install PyDev. A lot of people are still in the dark ages, using things like IDLE. If you don't already have a favorite development environment for Python, I highly recommend using PyDev. Justification first skip to the procedure if you're already sold. I'll get you started with Python package management and IDE configuration.
These are instructions for someone who may have already dabbled with some Python programming and is now looking for a more professional setup for productive development.