Atom vs. Python IDLE

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Atom
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Atom is a free and open source text editor offering a range of packages and themes.N/A
Python IDLE
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Python's IDLE is the integrated development environment (IDE) and learning platform for Python, presented as a basic and simple IDE appropriate for learners in educational settings.
$0
Pricing
AtomPython IDLE
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AtomPython IDLE
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Best Alternatives
AtomPython IDLE
Small Businesses
BBEdit
BBEdit
Score 8.2 out of 10
PyCharm
PyCharm
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Vim
Vim
Score 9.7 out of 10
PyCharm
PyCharm
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Vim
Vim
Score 9.7 out of 10
PyCharm
PyCharm
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AtomPython IDLE
Likelihood to Recommend
7.2
(31 ratings)
2.0
(6 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(2 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.6
(13 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AtomPython IDLE
Likelihood to Recommend
Open Source
Atom is great for simple HTML coding. It's fast, has intuitive shortcuts and several options. I particularly love the "convert spaces to tabs" function that I haven't seen in other editors.
I'm not sure how it would fair in more serious web development today, if there are plugins for live updates of the page you are working on...
But the problem is that it has been discontinued so you know there are no new features or fixes coming through.
Read full review
Python Software Foundation
IDLE is a good option to run small scripts directly on the console, and that's it. It is a good exit when you don't want or need to open a proper IDE like Pycharm.
Read full review
Pros
Open Source
  • Atom is highly customizable and allows for various themes and extensions that can make your code easier to read.
  • Atom has many code hinting features that allow users to write faster and integrate with services likeLINT that can clean up your code once your done to meet your internal teams style choices.
  • It's very fast and manages projects well - Accessing other files within a related folder(s) is very easy and intuitive.
  • It's free!
Read full review
Python Software Foundation
  • Firstly, I would say Python IDLE interface is user friendly.
  • Easy to learn for the beginners.
  • Syntax highlighting is nice features.
  • Smart indent helps a lot.
Read full review
Cons
Open Source
  • There should be a better user tips manual page to learn keyboard shortcuts
  • It would also be beneficial if mathematical and data analytic tools were added
  • it has quite high start-up timing when you open large projects to work on it
  • Sometimes, atom closed suddenly and do not open again
  • It still lacks better options with the previews even though there are already some by users adding plugins
  • It doesn't have self-correct features for lint errors, unlike IntelliJ
Read full review
Python Software Foundation
  • Too simplistic
  • Could not find source revision management integration support
  • Only basic debugging is available
  • Does not have data-science-specific notebooks (but can be installed separately)
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Open Source
Well Atom is open source so the re-new is a no brainer. The only way I would stop using Atom is if the developers somehow made it not function well. Or, if the project got forked to a commercial version or something. Or, there could be the case that development stops or that it was not updated on this or that platform
Read full review
Python Software Foundation
No answers on this topic
Usability
Open Source
I give Atom a 9 because it is one of the most modern text editors built with JavaScript intentionally to allow the editor to be changed and modified with custom functionality that a team may need. I think I would otherwise give atom an 8 due to support, but it gets a 9/10 because of the extensibility/plugin capability.
Read full review
Python Software Foundation
The IDE Python IDLE is a good place to start as it helps you become familiar with the way Python works and understand its syntax.
This IDE allows you to configure the environment, font, size, colors, .....
It also looks like any simple text editor for any operating system, I work with Windows or Linux interchangeably, and you don't have to learn to use the IDE before programming.
Once the IDE is executed you can start programming directly in it.
Read full review
Support Rating
Open Source
Atom has an active forum and a Slack group where you can ask technical questions. Occasionally, the authors will pop in to answer a few questions here and there, but most of the time, its other helpful users who will assist you. Though they aren't the most knowledgeable, they are at least timely.
As for plugin support, that differs with each plugin, but as I mentioned before, many plugins are no longer maintained.
Read full review
Python Software Foundation
Python IDLE support is what the community can give you. As it is free software, it does not have support provided by the manufacturer or by third-parties.
In any case, for most of the problems that normal users can find, the solution, or alternatives, can be found quickly online.
As this IDE is made in Python, the support is the same group of Python developers.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Open Source
Just download and install
Read full review
Python Software Foundation
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Open Source
Our company likes to keep things open, and we don't want to prevent developers from customizing their environment the way they want. Atom seemed to be a lot more open than our existing tools and has good community support on pretty much any programming language. This can create some confusion since adding too many extensions or customizing can make the tool slower than it is supposed to be.
Read full review
Python Software Foundation
It's easy to set up and run quick analysis in Python IDLE on my local machine. The output is direct and easy to read. But sometimes I prefer Jupyter Notebook when the datasets are large, since it would take too long to run on my local machine. It is easier to run Jupyter Notebook on my cloud desktop
Read full review
Return on Investment
Open Source
  • The tool we use when we need quick fixes. Allows fast, reliable scripting to fix urgent problems in our applications.
  • When applications grow from 5-10 files to 100's, they need to be migrated to a heavier-duty IDE. This can be cumbersome and quite annoying, but is necessary to maintain code integrity on such a large scale (since it cannot be done with the limited default toolset of Atom).
Read full review
Python Software Foundation
  • In a short time, we were able to develop several ML models for various teams to make accurate decisions.
  • Beginners can easily understand and adapt to GUI.
  • We could automate several manual validation tasks and so could reduce human intervention.
Read full review
ScreenShots