-
-

IDLE

-

Source code: Lib/idlelib/

+
+

IDLE

+

Source code: Lib/idlelib/


IDLE is Python’s Integrated Development and Learning Environment.

IDLE has the following features:

@@ -119,8 +220,8 @@

Navigation

of global and local namespaces

  • configuration, browsers, and other dialogs

  • - -
    -

    Format menu (Editor window only)

    +
    +
    +

    Format menu (Editor window only)

    +
    Format Paragraph

    Reformat the current blank-line-delimited paragraph in comment block or +multiline string or selected line in a string. All lines in the +paragraph will be formatted to less than N columns, where N defaults to 72.

    +
    Indent Region

    Shift selected lines right by the indent width (default 4 spaces).

    Dedent Region

    Shift selected lines left by the indent width (default 4 spaces).

    @@ -237,19 +347,15 @@

    Edit menu (Shell and Editor) -

    Run menu (Editor window only)

    +

    +
    +

    Run menu (Editor window only)

    Run Module

    Do Check Module. If no error, restart the shell to clean the environment, then execute the module. Output is displayed in the Shell @@ -278,9 +384,9 @@

    Edit menu (Shell and Editor) -

    Shell menu (Shell window only)

    +

    +
    +

    Shell menu (Shell window only)

    View Last Restart

    Scroll the shell window to the last Shell restart.

    @@ -293,9 +399,9 @@

    Shell menu (Shell window only) -

    Debug menu (Shell window only)

    +

    +
    +

    Debug menu (Shell window only)

    Go to File/Line

    Look on the current line. with the cursor, and the line above for a filename and line number. If found, open the file if not already open, and show the @@ -315,9 +421,9 @@

    Debug menu (Shell window only) -

    Options menu (Shell and Editor)

    +

    +
    +

    Options menu (Shell and Editor)

    Configure IDLE

    Open a configuration dialog and change preferences for the following: fonts, indentation, keybindings, text color themes, startup windows and @@ -347,14 +453,14 @@

    Options menu (Shell and Editor) -

    Window menu (Shell and Editor)

    +

    +
    +

    Window menu (Shell and Editor)

    Lists the names of all open windows; select one to bring it to the foreground (deiconifying it if necessary).

    -
    -
    -

    Help menu (Shell and Editor)

    + +
    +

    Help menu (Shell and Editor)

    About IDLE

    Display version, copyright, license, credits, and more.

    @@ -370,9 +476,9 @@

    Help menu (Shell and Editor)Help sources subsection below for more on Help menu choices.

    -

    -
    -

    Context Menus

    + +
    +

    Context menus

    Open a context menu by right-clicking in a window (Control-click on macOS). Context menus have the standard clipboard functions also on the Edit menu.

    @@ -405,12 +511,12 @@

    Help menu (Shell and Editor) -

    Editing and navigation

    -
    -

    Editor windows

    +

    + +
    +

    Editing and Navigation

    +
    +

    Editor windows

    IDLE may open editor windows when it starts, depending on settings and how you start IDLE. Thereafter, use the File menu. There can be only one open editor window for a given file.

    @@ -420,41 +526,41 @@

    Editor windows -

    Key bindings

    +

    +
    +

    Key bindings

    In this section, ‘C’ refers to the Control key on Windows and Unix and the Command key on macOS.

    • Backspace deletes to the left; Del deletes to the right

    • -
    • C-Backspace delete word left; C-Del delete word to the right

    • -
    • Arrow keys and Page Up/Page Down to move around

    • -
    • C-LeftArrow and C-RightArrow moves by words

    • +
    • C-Backspace delete word left; C-Del delete word to the right

    • +
    • Arrow keys and Page Up/Page Down to move around

    • +
    • C-LeftArrow and C-RightArrow moves by words

    • Home/End go to begin/end of line

    • -
    • C-Home/C-End go to begin/end of file

    • +
    • C-Home/C-End go to begin/end of file

    • Some useful Emacs bindings are inherited from Tcl/Tk:

        -
      • C-a beginning of line

      • -
      • C-e end of line

      • -
      • C-k kill line (but doesn’t put it in clipboard)

      • -
      • C-l center window around the insertion point

      • -
      • C-b go backward one character without deleting (usually you can +

      • C-a beginning of line

      • +
      • C-e end of line

      • +
      • C-k kill line (but doesn’t put it in clipboard)

      • +
      • C-l center window around the insertion point

      • +
      • C-b go backward one character without deleting (usually you can also use the cursor key for this)

      • -
      • C-f go forward one character without deleting (usually you can +

      • C-f go forward one character without deleting (usually you can also use the cursor key for this)

      • -
      • C-p go up one line (usually you can also use the cursor key for +

      • C-p go up one line (usually you can also use the cursor key for this)

      • -
      • C-d delete next character

      • +
      • C-d delete next character

    -

    Standard keybindings (like C-c to copy and C-v to paste) +

    Standard keybindings (like C-c to copy and C-v to paste) may work. Keybindings are selected in the Configure IDLE dialog.

    -
    -
    -

    Automatic indentation

    + +
    +

    Automatic indentation

    After a block-opening statement, the next line is indented by 4 spaces (in the Python Shell window by one tab). After certain keywords (break, return etc.) the next line is dedented. In leading indentation, Backspace deletes up @@ -463,9 +569,16 @@

    Automatic indentation

    See also the indent/dedent region commands on the Format menu.

    -

    -
    -

    Completions

    + +
    +

    Search and Replace

    +

    Any selection becomes a search target. However, only selections within +a line work because searches are only performed within lines with the +terminal newline removed. If [x] Regular expresion is checked, the +target is interpreted according to the Python re module.

    +
    +
    +

    Completions

    Completions are supplied, when requested and available, for module names, attributes of classes or functions, or filenames. Each request method displays a completion box with existing names. (See tab @@ -487,7 +600,7 @@

    Automatic indentation

    Instead of waiting, or after a box is closed, open a completion box immediately with Show Completions on the Edit menu. The default hot -key is C-space. If one types a prefix for the desired name +key is C-space. If one types a prefix for the desired name before opening the box, the first match or near miss is made visible. The result is the same as if one enters a prefix after the box is displayed. Show Completions after a quote completes @@ -504,12 +617,12 @@

    Automatic indentation -

    Completion boxes intially exclude names beginning with ‘_’ or, for +

    Completion boxes initially exclude names beginning with ‘_’ or, for modules, not included in ‘__all__’. The hidden names can be accessed by typing ‘_’ after ‘.’, either before or after the box is opened.

    -

    -
    -

    Calltips

    + +
    +

    Calltips

    A calltip is shown automatically when one types ( after the name of an accessible function. A function name expression may include dots and subscripts. A calltip remains until it is clicked, the cursor @@ -533,9 +646,9 @@

    Automatic indentationIn an editor, import statements have no effect until one runs the file. One might want to run a file after writing import statements, after adding function definitions, or after opening an existing file.

    -

    -
    -

    Code Context

    + +
    +

    Code Context

    Within an editor window containing Python code, code context can be toggled in order to show or hide a pane at the top of the window. When shown, this pane freezes the opening lines for block code, such as those beginning with @@ -548,47 +661,63 @@

    Automatic indentation

    The text and background colors for the context pane can be configured under the Highlights tab in the Configure IDLE dialog.

    -

    -
    -

    Python Shell window

    -

    With IDLE’s Shell, one enters, edits, and recalls complete statements. -Most consoles and terminals only work with a single physical line at a time.

    + +
    +

    Shell window

    +

    In IDLE’s Shell, enter, edit, and recall complete statements. (Most +consoles and terminals only work with a single physical line at a time).

    +

    Submit a single-line statement for execution by hitting Return +with the cursor anywhere on the line. If a line is extended with +Backslash (\), the cursor must be on the last physical line. +Submit a multi-line compound statement by entering a blank line after +the statement.

    When one pastes code into Shell, it is not compiled and possibly executed -until one hits Return. One may edit pasted code first. -If one pastes more that one statement into Shell, the result will be a +until one hits Return, as specified above. +One may edit pasted code first. +If one pastes more than one statement into Shell, the result will be a SyntaxError when multiple statements are compiled as if they were one.

    +

    Lines containing RESTART mean that the user execution process has been +re-started. This occurs when the user execution process has crashed, +when one requests a restart on the Shell menu, or when one runs code +in an editor window.

    The editing features described in previous subsections work when entering code interactively. IDLE’s Shell window also responds to the following keys.

      -
    • C-c interrupts executing command

    • -
    • C-d sends end-of-file; closes window if typed at a >>> prompt

    • -
    • Alt-/ (Expand word) is also useful to reduce typing

      +
    • C-c interrupts executing command

    • +
    • C-d sends end-of-file; closes window if typed at a >>> prompt

    • +
    • Alt-/ (Expand word) is also useful to reduce typing

      Command history

        -
      • Alt-p retrieves previous command matching what you have typed. On -macOS use C-p.

      • -
      • Alt-n retrieves next. On macOS use C-n.

      • -
      • Return while on any previous command retrieves that command

      • +
      • Alt-p retrieves previous command matching what you have typed. On +macOS use C-p.

      • +
      • Alt-n retrieves next. On macOS use C-n.

      • +
      • Return while the cursor is on any previous command +retrieves that command

    -
    -
    -

    Text colors

    + +
    +

    Text colors

    Idle defaults to black on white text, but colors text with special meanings. For the shell, these are shell output, shell error, user output, and user error. For Python code, at the shell prompt or in an editor, these are keywords, builtin class and function names, names following class and def, strings, and comments. For any text window, these are the cursor (when present), found text (when possible), and selected text.

    +

    IDLE also highlights the soft keywords match, +case, and _ in +pattern-matching statements. However, this highlighting is not perfect and +will be incorrect in some rare cases, including some _-s in case +patterns.

    Text coloring is done in the background, so uncolorized text is occasionally visible. To change the color scheme, use the Configure IDLE dialog Highlighting tab. The marking of debugger breakpoint lines in the editor and text in popups and dialogs is not user-configurable.

    -
    -