Which python should i use

Let us explain. When it comes to installing Python, developers have a number of choices, all of which are suitable for developing a wide range of applications. The first choice for many is Python.

Typically, developers download the Python core for the most recent release of the language from python. To simplify and speed project startup, a number of commercial vendors package together a version of the Python core with hundreds of the most popular packages from PyPI. Foremost among these vendors are Anaconda and ActiveState. Additionally, these vendors enhance Python with their own ecosystem, which can often make Python easier to deploy, build and manage. CPython provides the highest level of compatibility with Python packages and C extension modules.

If you are writing open source Python code and want to reach the widest possible audience, targeting CPython is best. To use packages which rely on C extensions to function, CPython is your only implementation option.

All versions of the Python language are implemented in C because CPython is the reference implementation. PyPy is a Python interpreter implemented in a restricted statically-typed subset of the Python language called RPython.

PyPy aims for maximum compatibility with the reference CPython implementation while improving performance. PyPy supports Python 2.

PyPy3 [1] , released in beta, targets Python 3. Additionally, it is able to import and use any Java class like a Python module. If you need to interface with an existing Java codebase or have other reasons to need to write Python code for the JVM, Jython is the best choice. Jython currently supports up to Python 2. IronPython is an implementation of Python for the.

NET framework. It can use both Python and. You can always try out the most recent version of Python in a controlled way — e. Python also comes in a variety of distributions, in much the same way Linux does. Again, this is the safest and most broadly compatible distribution, the one nobody gets fired for picking.

The most likely answer is bit, for the following reasons:. Python installs on Windows in much the same way as any other application, by way of an installer that guides you through the setup process. The Windows installer lets you specify the target directory. Yet another option is to use one of the package management systems that exist for Windows. NuGet, the package manager for.

NET, offers Python in its repository. However, Python is provided there mainly for the sake of using it as a component in a. NET application, not as a way to install a standalone instance of Python for general use. You will likely find your Python instance easier to manage if you install Python the regular way. Chocolatey , a more general Windows package management system, offers Python as well. Chocolatey is a convenient way to run the Python installer and track the presence of the Python language runtime in your system — and thus a better choice than NuGet.

Ubuntu and Fedora , for instance, have entirely different procedures for installing Python. On Linux and MacOS , the target directory for the install is usually predetermined and based on the Python version number, e. One way to avoid dealing with the intricacies of Linux package managers is to use a containerized Python runtime. Note that you can use containerized Python on Windows as well. A tool named asdf-vm also comes in handy here. MacOS has traditionally shipped with a version of Python installed, but never more recent than Python 2.

This created problems when Python 3 arrived, as the two versions often conflicted.