Python - spyder 2.1

Create and modify scientific software projects based on the Python language. Run integrity tests on the generated code, debug applications, apply introspection algorithms, etc. The suite also creates a numerical computing environment with access to standard element libraries.

Spyder (previously known as Pydee) is a free open-source Python development environment providing MATLAB-like features in a simple and light-weighted software, available for Windows XP/Vista/7, GNU/Linux and MacOS X.

Spyder is the Scientific Python Development Environment with a powerful interactive development environment for the Python language with advanced editing, interactive testing, debugging and introspection features. Also provides a numerical computing environment thanks to the support of IPython (enhanced interactive Python interpreter) and popular Python libraries such as NumPy (linear algebra), SciPy (signal and image processing) or matplotlib (interactive 2D/3D plotting).

Spyder may also be used as a library providing powerful console-related widgets for your PyQt-based applications – for example, it may be used to integrate a debugging console directly in the layout of your graphical user interface.

v2.1 [Sep 21, 2011]
Spyder v2.1 is now compatible with:
- !PyQt's API v1 (i.e. compatible with !PyQt 4.4 and 4.5), the default Python 2 API
- -and- !PyQt's API #2 (this is the future: default Python 3 API and !PySide-compatible API)
- -and- with !PySide (!PySide support is still experimental as this library is still young but its stability is evolving rapidly)
New major features:
- New -Profiler- plugin
- New experimental -IPython- plugin embedding IPython's Qt console: see [http://spyder-ide.blogspot.com/2011/08/preview-of-new-ipython-plugin-for.html here]
- General:
- Main window:
- added "Custom window layouts" management (see menu "View")/handling 3 custom layouts: default shortcuts Shift Alt FX to switch to/from layout #X and Ctrl Shift Alt FX to set layout #X
- "General" preferences page: added option to set the Qt windows style, depending on platform (Plastique, Cleanlooks, CDE, Windows...)
- Command line options: added option "--defaults" to reset settings (stored in .spyder.ini) to defaults (a lot of settings are preserved: shortcuts, window layouts, ...) -- this is less brutal than "--reset" which reset all settings by removing all configuration files related to Spyder
- -Outline- (function/class browser) is now a plugin in itself, embedded in its own dockwidget: Spyder's window layout is even more customizable than before
- -Code completion- (Editor/Console): entries starting with '_' are now placed to the end of the suggested list
- -Console-:
- Major code cleaning: running Python applications in Spyder has never been cleaner and is very close to a simple Python interpreter
- Standard Python interpreter:
- now refresh the variable explorer at each new prompt (even if auto-refresh is disabled -- actually, this is the typical use case)
- added support for basic special commands (%pwd, %ls, %clear) and system commands (starting with '!', e.g. !dir or !ls)
- Preferences (External modules tab):
- added an option to set PyQt API to v1 or v2 -- this avoids issues with Enthought Tool Suite or any other library/program using PyQt API v2 which is -not- the default API for Python 2
- changed matplotlib patch to fix compatiblity issue with PyQt API v2
- Preferences (Advanced Settings tab): added option "Python executable" to customize path to Python interpreter executable binary
- -Variable explorer-:
- New HDF5 plugin ([http://code.google.com/u/DavidAnthonyPowell/ DavidAnthonyPowell]): import/export HDF5 files to/from the variable explorer
- -Editor-:
- find/replace:
- added support for -multiline- regular expression search pattern
- added support for -multiline- regular expression text replacement
- added button "Highlight matches" to highlight all found results
- syntax highlighting: added support for OpenCL, gettext files, patch/diff files, CSS and HTML files
- support for "2 spaces" and "tabs" indentation characters
- new code analysis feature: added support for the [http://pypi.python.org/pypi/pep8 pep8] style guide checker
- "Comment" and "Uncomment" actions were replaced by a single "Comment/Uncommment" toggle action
- -File explorer- and -Project explorer-: great performance improvement (using a multithreaded file system model)
- -File explorer-: added an option to "Show current directory only"
- -Project explorer-: this plugin was entirely rewritten to improve performances and usability
Windows platforms specific changes:
- (requires pywin32) Hiding the attached console window:
- allow running Spyder with 'python.exe' without visible console (this avoid using 'pythonw.exe' which does not attach a console to the process, hence preventing standard I/O to be redirected in a subprocess executed within Spyder, e.g. in your own program)
- the attached console may be shown/hidden from menu entry "View > Attached console window (debugging)"
- Major change for Windows/PyQt users: standard Python interpreter now supports interactive GUI manipulations thanks to a new Spyder-specific input hook (replacing PyQt's input hook which is not working within Spyder on Windows platforms) -- the input hook works even better than PyQt's builtin input hook (with a Python interpreter opened outside Spyder)!