python Spyder IDE terminology

Question

I am new to Python, coming from a MATLAB background. I am using the Anaconda / Spyder 2.2.5 IDE . I am having trouble understanding the terminology used for the development environment. There are "interpreters", "consoles", "kernels", and "shells". Are these all specific entities, or is "interpreter" used interchangeably with "shell"? Can anyone define these for me, and tell me which ones I need to use? I am editing some scripts in the editor, using the python debugger. It seems like the interpreter (shell?) is the window that allows me to interact with my current "variable explorer" workspace.

Answer 1

An interpreter is simply an instance of the python executable being run by the operating system. When you call python interactively from a terminal or command prompt, you are calling the python interpreter to wait for user input and evaluate code line by line. Spyder provides a method to effectively have this same window within the IDE (plus some other features). A console (Probably IPython console?) is a heavily modified interactive interpreter designed to look and feel somewhat like mathematica, and provide a number of interactive features that speed up development. IPython Consoles are typically the method of choice when demonstrating code live to an audience. A kernel (in refrence to the console) is actually the python interpreter running in the background that evaluates code when it is sent in. This is a result of the back-end (kernel) / front-end (GUI) style of the IPython console interface. This again borrows some terminology from Mathematica. Lastly, a shell is generically any command line interface, and will likely be an instance of your computer's command line interface (terminal or cmd).