IPython is known for the notebooks. But the first thing they list on their homepage is a “powerful interactive shell”. And that’s true - if you use Python interactively, you’ll dig IPython.
Here are a few features that make a difference for us:
command line history and autocomplete
These are basic shell features you come to expect and rely upon after a first contact with a Unix shell. The standard Python interpreter feels somewhat impoverished without them.%paste
Normally when you paste indented code, it won’t work. You can fix it with this magic command.other
%magic
commands
Actually, you can skip the%
:paste
,run some_script.py
,pwd
,cd some_dir
shell commands with
!
For example!ls -las
. Alas, aliases from your system shell don’t work.looks good
Red and green add a nice touch, especially in a window with dark background.
If you have a light background, use
%colors LightBG
Share your favourite features in the comments. For more, see Using IPython for interactive work.