A better Python REPL: bpython vs python

By Dan Bader — Get free updates of new posts here.

A quick video that demonstrates bpython, an awesome alternative Python interpreter.

Compared to the vanilla Python interpreter bpython knows a few extra tricks like syntax highlighting, auto indent (yay!), and auto completion.

Check it out, it’s a really great tool!

If you’d like to learn more about bpython, the following links should help you out:

Improve Your Python with a fresh 🐍 Python Trick 💌 every couple of days

🔒 No spam ever. Unsubscribe any time.

This article was filed under: productivity, programming, python, and video.

Related Articles:

Watch me do a “live” Python code review for a reader – This is a bit of an experiment – but you might find it interesting!
Using get() to return a default value from a Python dict – Python’s dictionaries have a “get” method to look up a key while providing a fallback value. This short screencast tutorial gives you a real-world example where this might come in handy.
How Do I Make My Own Command-Line Commands Using Python? – How to turn your Python scripts into “real” command-line commands you can run from the system terminal.
Python Code Review: Unplugged – Episode 2 – This is the second episode of my video code review series where I record myself giving feedback and refactoring a reader’s Python code.
Click & jump to any file or folder from the terminal – iTerm2 for macOS has a little known feature that lets you open files and folders simply by Cmd+Clicking on them in the terminal. Among other things, this is super handy for debugging tests.

Latest Articles:

Interfacing Python and C: The CFFI Module – How to use Python’s built-in CFFI module for interfacing Python with native libraries as an alternative to the “ctypes” approach.
Write More Pythonic Code by Applying the Things You Already Know – There’s a mistake I frequently make when I learn new things about Python… Here’s how you can avoid this pitfall and learn something about Python’s “enumerate()” function at the same time.
Working With File I/O in Python – Learn the basics of working with files in Python. How to read from files, how to write data to them, what file seeks are, and why files should be closed.
How to Reverse a String in Python – An overview of the three main ways to reverse a Python string: “slicing”, reverse iteration, and the classic in-place reversal algorithm. Also includes performance benchmarks.
Mastering Click: Writing Advanced Python Command-Line Apps – How to improve your existing Click Python CLIs with advanced features like sub-commands, user input, parameter types, contexts, and more.
Working with Random Numbers in Python – An overview for working with randomness in Python, using only functionality built into the standard library and CPython itself.