Microsoft Releases Python Tools for Visual Studio 2.1 Beta

Microsoft has released Python Tools for Visual Studio 2.1 Beta which offer an IDE experience for general scripting, web programming and technical computing. 

With integrated IPython REPL support for smart history, shell commands and inline images, these tools provide a great exploratory coding environment. And with unique features like mixed mode debugging of Python with C++ and remote debugging of Linux servers in Azure, Visual Studio provides an ideal development environment for Python developers.

PTVS provides an environment for many data and scientific computing scenarios such as machine learning. Users can also run the same Python code in any modern browser backed by a Python engine running locally or in Azure. Where PTVS provides detailed IntelliSense and advanced debugging and profiling support, IPython enables easy sharing of “executable” notebooks comprised of mixed code, markdown and graphics.

The release of PTVS 2.1 Beta brings several new additions, including support for new web frameworks including Bottle and Flask, support for installing on Visual Studio Express and improvements to the Django template IntelliSense.

PTVS has had support for Django, including debugging of Django Templates. This release has added support for two new frameworks: Bottle and Flask. There is also a “generic” web framework template to use for frameworks such as Pyramid.

PTVS can be used to build a site and easily publish it to either Azure Web Sites or an Azure Cloud Service.  

With the 2.1 Beta the Python Tools are now installable in the free Visual Studio Express for Web and Express for Windows Desktop.  Developers have access to free tools for Python Web development with Visual Studio, as well as a complete Python + C++ IDE for data sciences work. 

The Python Tools for Visual Studio are open source (Apache 2.0) and hosted on CodePlex. Since the release of the Python Tools 2 years ago, this implementation of a language extension for Visual Studio has been used as a reference implementation by many other language extensions developed both by Microsoft and by its partners.