Introduction and installation of code editor VSCode

This article provides an overview of VSCode. This page introduces VSCode and its features.

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Last updated 1 year ago

Introduction and installation of code editor VSCode

This article provides an overview of VSCode. This page introduces VSCode and its features.

One of the coolest code editors available to programmers, Visual Studio Code, is an open-source, extensible, light-weight editor available on all platforms. It’s these qualities that make Visual Studio Code from Microsoft very popular, and a great platform for Python development.

In this article, you’ll learn about Python development in Visual Studio Code, including how to:

Install Visual Studio Code
Discover and install extensions that make Python development easy
Write a straightforward Python application
Learn how to run and debug existing Python programs in VS Code

It is the most popular code editor. It allows users with different types of in-app installed extensions for the different types of their supported languages. It allows the programmers to write the code with ease with the help of these extensions. Also, Visual Studio Code has a great vibrant software UI with amazing night mode features. It suggests auto-complete code to the users which suggests the users complete their code with full ease.

Installing Visual Studio Code on Windows

Follow the below steps to install Visual Studio Code on Windows:

Step 1: Visit the official website of the Visual Studio Code using any web browser like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, etc.

Step 2: Press the “Download for Windows” button on the website to start the download of the Visual Studio Code Application.

Step 3: When the download finishes, then the Visual Studio Code icon appears in the downloads folder.

Step 4: Click on the installer icon to start the installation process of the Visual Studio Code.

Step 5: After the Installer opens, it will ask you for accepting the terms and conditions of the Visual Studio Code. Click on I accept the agreement and then click the Next button.

Step 6: Choose the location data for running the Visual Studio Code. It will then ask you for browsing the location. Then click on Next button.

Step 7: Then it will ask for beginning the installing setup. Click on the Install button.

Step 8: After clicking on Install, it will take about 1 minute to install the Visual Studio Code on your device.

Step 9: After the Installation setup for Visual Studio Code is finished, it will show a window like this below. Tick the “Launch Visual Studio Code” checkbox and then click Next.

Step 10: After the previous step, the Visual Studio Code window opens successfully. Now you can create a new file in the Visual Studio Code window and choose a language of yours to begin your programming journey!

Extensions for Python Development

As stated above, VS Code supports development in multiple programming languages through a well-documented extension model. The Python extension enables Python development in Visual Studio Code, with the following features:

Support for Python 3.4 and higher, as well as Python 2.7
Code completion with IntelliSense
Linting
Debugging support
Code snippets
Unit testing support
Automatic use of conda and virtual environments
Code editing in Jupyter environments and Jupyter Notebooks

Visual Studio Code extensions cover more than just programming language capabilities:

Keymaps allow users already familiar with Atom, Sublime Text, Emacs, Vim, PyCharm, or other environments to feel at home.
Themes customize the UI whether you like coding in the light, dark, or something more colorful.
Language packs provide a localized experience.

Here are some other extensions and settings I find useful:

GitLens provides tons of useful Git features directly in your editing window, including blame annotations and repository exploration features.
Auto save is easily turned on by selecting File, Auto Save from the menu. The default delay time is 1000 milliseconds, which is also configurable.
Settings Sync allows you to synchronize your VS Code settings across different installations using GitHub. If you work on different machines, this helps keep your environment consistent across them.
Docker lets you quickly and easily work with Docker, helping author Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml, package and deploy your projects, and even generate the proper Docker files for your project.

Discovering and installing new extensions and themes is accessible by clicking on the Extensions icon on the Activity Bar. You can search for extensions using keywords, sort the results numerous ways, and install extensions quickly and easily. For this article, install the Python extension by typing python in the Extensions item on the Activity Bar, and clicking Install:

Start a New Python Program

Let’s start our exploration of Python development in Visual Studio Code with a new Python program. In VS Code, type Ctrl+N to open a new File. (You can also select File, New from the menu.)

Note: The Visual Studio Code UI provides the Command Palette, from which you can search and execute any command without leaving the keyboard. Open the Command Palette using Ctrl+Shift+P, type File: New File, and hit Enter to open a new file.

No matter how you get there, you should see a VS Code window that looks similar to the following:

Once a new file is opened, you can begin entering code.

Entering Python Code

For our test code, let’s quickly code up the Sieve of Eratosthenes (which finds all primes less than a given number). Begin typing the following code in the new tab you just opened:

sieve = [True] * 101
for i in range(2, 100):

You should see something similar to this:

Wait, what’s going on? Why isn’t Visual Studio Code doing any keyword highlighting, any auto-formatting, or anything really helpful? What gives?

The answer is that, right now, VS Code doesn’t know what kind of file it’s dealing with. The buffer is called Untitled-1, and if you look in the lower right corner of the window, you’ll see the words Plain Text.

To activate the Python extension, save the file (by selecting File, Save from the menu, File:Save File from the Command Palette, or just using Ctrl+S) as sieve.py. VS Code will see the .py extension and correctly interpret the file as Python code. Now your window should look like this:

That’s much better! VS Code automatically reformats the file as Python, which you can verify by inspecting the language mode in the lower left corner.

If you have multiple Python installations (like Python 2.7, Python 3.x, or Anaconda), you can change which Python interpreter VS Code uses by clicking the language mode indicator, or selecting Python: Select Interpreter from the Command Palette. VS Code supports formatting using pep8 by default, but you can select black or yapf if you wish.

Let’s add the rest of the Sieve code now. To see IntelliSense at work, type this code directly rather than cut and paste, and you should see something like this:

Here’s the full code for a basic Sieve of Eratosthenes:

sieve = [True] * 101
for i in range(2, 100):
    if sieve[i]:
        print(i)
        for j in range(i*i, 100, i):
            sieve[j] = False

As you type this code, VS Code automatically indents the lines under for and if statements for you properly, adds closing parentheses, and makes suggestions for you. That’s the power of IntelliSense working for you.

Running Python Code

Now that the code is complete, you can run it. There is no need to leave the editor to do this: Visual Studio Code can run this program directly in the editor. Save the file (using Ctrl+S), then right-click in the editor window and select Run Python File in Terminal:

You should see the Terminal pane appear at the bottom of the window, with your code output showing.