Here’s what syntax highlighting looks like in Atom for a Python script: py extension) as soon as you start writing the code. So usually you will want to save the file (with the. If you open a new file and start typing, the editor will not know what kind of highlighting to use until the first time you save the file. py (the usual file extension for Python scripts), the editor will provide highlighting specifically for Python.

So if you open a file that has the extension. Editors generally figure out the language you are using from the file extension of the file.

Syntax highlightingĪll good code editors provide syntax highlighting based on the particular programming language of the file you are editing. Both editors are available for Mac, Windows, and Linux, so if you get used to one, you can continue to use it if you change platforms at some time in the future.

They are not necessarily better than all the others, but we have experience with them and can recommend them. Two will be mentioned here: Atom and Visual Studio Code (not part of Microsoft’s Visual Studio IDE). Some of them are described at the Guru99 website. There are many excellent free code editors available that can help you more easily create Python scripts. If you haven’t done that yet, see the Instructions for installing Python first. *Note: these instructions assume that you have already installed a distribution of Python on your computer. There are instructions for getting started with an beginner’s IDE called Thonny on this page. An alternate method is to do the code development using an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The page will get you started writing a Python script by editing it in a code editor, saving it in a file, then running the script via the command line.

Code writer for python