Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

As discussed in the previous section, we recommend installing and using VS Code for the purpose of this Summer School.

Installation

Further instructions are available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux.

Usage

If you are opening an IDE for the first time, you may very well be overwhelmed by all the windows, panes, and options that are provided to you. Don't worry too much, by the end of the Summer School you will be aquainted with the most important features. As preparation, try to open a directory on your machine in VS Code, create a very simple Python file, and run it (see instructions below). You can follow the tutorial, or try to experiment yourself.

Python in Visual Studio Code

The Python extension

One of the strong characteristics of VS Code is it's extensive suite of extensions. The IDE can be customized to your liking through these plugins, ranging from language support to utility packages. It's easy to get lost in the vast amount of available extensions. For this summer course, you will only require one: the official Python extension. This provides the IDE with all Python language features you will need in the summer course.

VS Code's documentation page on working in Python outline some of the features the IDE provides (together with the Python extension). Please note that we will cover these during the Summer School. Feel free to experiment with them, but don't be discouraged if you are overwhelmed for now. Try to complete the first section "Running Python Code". If you succeed, you are fully prepared for the week ahead!