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IDE Fundamentals

Students need to know how to use their IDE once they’ve set it up.

Dependencies​

Students need to have these skills before learning this skill:

Goal​

When you teach this skill, your goal is to make sure that a student can do the following:

  • Open the IDE.
  • Create a new file.
  • Save a file.
  • Run a file.

Instructions for specific IDEs​

IDLE​

If you’re teaching a class using IDLE, then here’s what you need to show students how to do:

Open the IDE​

  1. Find the Start button.

    On Windows 11, the Start button looks like four cyan squares that come together to form a Window.

  2. Click on the Start button to open the Start menu.

    On Windows 11, there’s a search bar at the top of the Start menu.

  3. If you see IDLE, then click on it. Otherwise, start typing “IDLE” into the search bar.

  4. Once IDLE appears in the search results, click on it.

    On my system, the full name of the application that I need to open is “IDLE (Python 3.12 64-bit)”.

Create a new file​

  1. In IDLE, click the “File” button.

    The “File” button is in the menu bar at top of IDLE windows.

  2. Click “New File”.

    The “New File” button is the first option in the “File” menu.

Save a file​

  1. In IDLE, click the “File” button.

    The “File” button is in the menu bar at top of IDLE windows.

  2. Click “Save”.

    The “Save” button is the seventh option in the “File” menu.

Run a file​

  1. In IDLE, click the “Run” button.

    The “Run” button is in the menu bar at top of IDLE windows.

  2. Click “Run Module”.

    The “Run Module” button is the first option in the “Run” menu.