Python Tools for Visual Studio Documentation

Getting Started

  1. Install Python and libraries (if you haven’t already): Getting interpreters & libraries – more details

  2. Install Visual Studio 2010 (if you haven’t already): Installation – more details

  3. For MPI development install MS-MPI: Download the MS-MPI redistributable

  4. For cluster development install HPC Pack and the HPC Pack SDK: HPC Pack Express, HPC Pack SDK

  5. Install Python Tools for Visual Studio from the Download tab and you’re ready to go: Python Tools for Visual Studio releases

Features in Depth

For an overview of the Visual Studio integration, including editor enhancements, the debugger and profiler, and the REPL integration, look no further than the detailed walk-through of IDE features.

For development at scale using MPI and IPython on a cluster, you should read the detailed walk-though guide of HPC and Cloud Features.

Release Notes

Beta1 (March, 2011)

  • You can't install Python Tools for Visual Studio side-by-side with IronPython Tools for Visual Studio.
  • A race condition sometimes causes local MPI debugging to miss breakpoints.
  • When MPI jobs on a cluster fail they don’t get cleaned up correctly, which can cause debugging to stall because the associated MPI job is stuck in the queue.
  • The "Threads" view has a race condition which can cause it not to display properly at times.
  • VS2010 shortcuts that are pinned to the taskbar are sometimes messed up by running the MSI installer (but not by uninstall).
  • Adding interpreters via the Tools/Options/Python Tools/Interpreters dialog box will not dynamically update the REPLs available in the View/Other Windows menu. REPLs are updated after VS2010 restarts.
  • IronPython debugging of MPI.Net using the MPI launcher is broken; "Start without Debugging" works. Additionally, there is no option to do .NET debugging of IronPython MPI processes.
  • Pre-calculated Intellisense doesn't include signature help for classes.
  • Sending images to an IPython REPL hosted in Visual Studio is broken.
  • IPython uses Zero-MQ for interprocess communication; the Zero-MQ library needs a patch to work with 64-bit Python. (This bug is external to PTVS but you may run into it.)

Last edited Mar 9, 2011 at 5:02 AM by joxn, version 13

Comments

pythonicon Jan 24 at 2:33 PM 
Visual Studio is Microsoft's flagship product, perhaps second only to MSOffice. And now it can debug python code,is such an amazing tool to use. Nothing beats Visual Studio as the true programmer's most powerful IDE. And I am even a Unix command line + vim maniac with a dvorak layout keyboard for optimized finger speed.