Moving on from Mu

Mu was created to help you take your first steps in programming with Python. We want you to learn all you can with Mu, but there will come a time when you need to graduate to a more advanced code editor.

Here are some suggestions for what to explore next:

• Jupyter Notebooks are an amazing way to create an interactive narrative with code, multi-media and traditional prose. The REPL in Python 3 mode is a simplified version of a Jupyter notebook, so project Jupyter should immediately feel familiar. They also have a wonderfully friendly community.
• Atom is a free and simple code editor with lots of useful optional features. Made by the folks at GitHub, it works with many different programming languages and on all the platforms supported by Mu.
• Visual Studio Code is a powerful yet easy to use cross platform code editor for many different programming languages. Microsoft have done a great job in supporting Python and you’ll find it comes with more advanced versions of all the features of Mu.
• PyCharm is advertised as a Python IDE (integrated development environment – i.e. it has lots of bells and whistles) for professional developers. Apparently there is a simplified educational version, although I’ve heard mixed reviews from teachers about how good it is.

Finally, please remember that creating software is a collaborative process. Be open to the ideas of others, show respect for their time, efforts and feelings and be considerate to your peers.

Good luck! :-)