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VSCode Installation & Setup

Instructions

  1. Download the VSCode installer from code.visualstudio.com.
  2. Use the graphical installer to install VSCode.

Feel free to add it to $PATH, if applicable.

Extensions

Visual Studio Code has plenty of extensions which can either make your code editor appear more visually appealing, or help ease your workflow with some useful fixes.

For use with Python, please ensure that the following are installed (if not already):

  • Python by Microsoft (ms-python.python)
  • Python Debugger by Microsoft (ms-python.debugpy)
  • Pylance by Microsoft (ms-python.vscode-pylance)

The ones I will be using prevalently are as follows:

  • autopep8 by Microsoft (ms-python.autopep8) - While more so only for neater presentation purposes, this will help with autoformatting your code to be adherent to the PEP 8 standard set by Python.

Also, do take note that I also have this extension installed in my instance of Visual Studio Code:

  • IntelliJ IDEA Keybindings by Keisuke Kato (k--kato.intellij-idea-keybindings)

This extension makes it such that some of my shortcut keys are different from what is initially set by Microsoft themselves. You may choose not to install this extension, this one should do absolutely nothing to your workflow especially if you're not the type to use complex shortcut keys aside from your Ctrl+X/Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V combo ( Cmd+X/Cmd+C and Cmd+V for macOS ). However, if I mention any keyboard shortcut that does not translate on your end, you may want to do due diligence and find out what the original keybindings are.

You will be able to install your extensions by clicking on the Extensions tab on the left hand side (the shortcut is Shift+Cmd+X on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows). You can find out more about what these extensions do when you select and find them from there.

Note

Do be aware that you are not required to download these extensions in order for you to carry on with the class. These extensions are only meant to help with easing your web scripting/programming experiences with Visual Studio Code.

Testing VSCode Out