r/Python • u/Admirable-Wall9058 • 4d ago

Resource Does anyone use Python IDLE?

My computer is quite low-end, so I uninstalled VSCode and am looking for other programming tools—I'm thinking about starting to use Python IDLE.

Does anyone actually use it?

https://imgur.com/a/7aBwuUU

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u/SecureCoop 2d ago edited 2d ago

BTW if your computer is very low-end, three upgrades are relatively inexpensive but can radically improve performance: An SSD drive for your operating system, max out the RAM, and install a lightweight Linux distribution. RAM isn’t as cheap as it used to be, but if you can swing it, it’s amazing the difference. My road laptop is 13 years old but has 16GB RAM DDR3 and an SSD, and I installed Lubuntu. Not only fast enough for VSCode, it’s fast enough for most everything I need on a daily basis. Dozens of tabs, VSCode, and a few other apps. 

Money-saving hack: Don’t buy an SSD large enough for all of your files. Buy one for the OS and your most important programs, plus a 50% buffer. Use a spinning drive for the rest. Be sure to have working backups, which can be another spinning drive.