Installing and Configuring PyCharm

In the previous chapter, we looked at the most popular features of PyCharm and considered not only what makes PyCharm a great IDE but also what makes any IDE historically great. There is a base set of features we as developers need in order to be truly productive. In this chapter, we’ll turn our focus toward installing PyCharm. You may be thinking that you simply download and install it. You can do that, but there are different ways to install PyCharm that you might like better. There are also different options based on your operating system.

Aside from the simple act of downloading the installer, running it, and mashing the next button until the installer’s dialog boxes go away, there are other considerations for getting the tool properly installed and working. PyCharm is highly customizable, and you are presented with some of those customization options as soon as the program runs for the first time. Some of these options are interesting...