3. Setting up a work environment

Here we describe the development environment used to test the Python scripts generated by IA. This section is intended for Python beginners. If you already have a Python development environment, skip this entire section and proceed to the next one.

3.1. Python 3.13.7

The examples in this document were tested with the Python 3.13.7 interpreter available at URL |https://www.python.org/downloads/| (August 2025) on a Windows 10 machine:

Download the Python installer executable and run it.

Installing Python creates the following file structure:

To run Python in interactive mode, double-click [2]. Here is an example of Python code to run:

The >>> prompt allows you to enter a Python statement that is executed immediately. The code typed above has the following meaning:

>>> nom="tintin"
>>> print("nom=%s" % nom)
nom=tintin
>>> print("type=%s" % type(nom))
type=<class 'str'>
>>>

Lines:

1: initialization of a variable. In Python, you do not declare the type of variables. They automatically take on the type of the value assigned to them. This type may change over time;
2: display of the name. 'name=%s' is a display format where %s is a formal parameter denoting a string. name is the actual parameter that will be displayed in place of %s;
3: the result of the display;
4: display of the type of the variable name;
5: The variable name is of type class here. In Python 2.7, it would have the value <type 'str'>;

Now, let’s open a Windows console:

The fact that we were able to type [python] into [1] and that the executable [python.exe] was found shows that it is in the PATH directory on the Windows machine. This is important because it means that Python development tools will be able to find the Python interpreter. You can verify this as follows:

In [1], exit the Python interpreter;
In [2], the command that displays the PATH of the Windows machine’s executables;
In [3], we see that the Python 3.13 interpreter folder is part of PATH;

3.2. IDE PyCharm Community

To build and run the scripts in this document, we used the [PyCharm] Community Edition editor, available (August 2025) at URL |https://www.jetbrains.com/fr-fr/pycharm/download/#section=windows| :

Download the IDE PyCharm Community (here for Windows) [1-4] and install it.

Let's launch IDE PyCharm. A configuration panel appears:

Click [1] to create the PyCharm icon on the desktop;
In [2], open any folder in the file system as a Python project;
In [3], Python files will have the .py extension;
In [4], proceed to the next step;

The next window again offers the [1] configuration:

In [2], select the [Light] theme. The user will choose the theme of their choice;
In [3], leave IDE in English;
In [4], we keep the Windows shortcuts;

Let’s create our first Python project, [1-2]:

This opens the following window:

In [2], specify the name of the folder to be created for the project;
In [3], specify that the different versions of the code that will be saved will be managed by the Git version control system. PyCharm allows you to use others;
In [4-6], specify that your project will use a virtual environment. The virtual environment will create a folder named [.venv] at the root of the project. All plugins (packages) used by your project will go into this folder. This ensures isolation between projects when searching for plugins. The project searches for its plugins only within its own virtual environment [.venv] and nowhere else where it might find plugins with the same names but possibly different versions that are sometimes partially incompatible with each other;

The IDE PyCharm directory structure presents the created project as follows:

In [1-2], the project directory structure;
In [3], the project folder;
In [4], the project’s virtual environment folder. This is where the plugins we’ll use for the project will be installed;

Before we start coding, let’s delve deeper into the configuration of IDE:

Click on [1] to bring up the main menu;

In [1-2], configure IDE;

In [1-4], specify that you want to see the main menu above the main toolbar. You are not required to do this. We are doing it here to clarify the screenshots included in this document. Save your changes;

From now on, the main menu is always displayed in [1]:

Let’s continue configuring IDE:

In the top-right corner of the PyCharm window, you are offered the option to try the version Pro version of PyCharm. Depending on how you installed PyCharm, the version Pro version may even have been installed automatically (2025). This adds additional menu options.

If you installed the version Pro evaluation version for a one-month trial, you will see the message [2] in the top right corner.

To ensure consistency with the screenshots that follow, I’ll show you how to cancel the version Pro trial from IDE (you can return to it at any time):

In [1-2], manage your IDE subscriptions;

In [1], deactivate the version Pro. The IDE will restart;

Now let’s configure the Python interpreter that will run our project. We remember downloading one in a previous step:

In [1-3], we configure the project’s Python interpreter;
In [4], the interpreter path;
In [5], the packages (plugins) associated with this interpreter;

In [4], let’s find the full path of the interpreter being used:

In [3], we see that the Python interpreter used is located in the virtual environment folder of the [.venv] project;

It is possible to change the Python interpreter, which may change the plugins available to the project:

In [4], add a Python interpreter;

In [5], add a local interpreter. PyCharm will then search the machine’s PATH for a [python.exe] binary;

In [1], specify that the new interpreter must use the project’s existing [.venv] virtual environment;
In [2], IDE suggests the Python application installed in a previous step as the interpreter;
Confirm this selection;

In [4], the new interpreter;
In [5], the packages to which the project will have access. This is the main difference resulting from the change in interpreter. If you manage multiple projects that use different packages, it is preferable to use the packages from each project’s virtual environment. This way, you have control over the versions of the plugins you use. For this reason, we will keep the virtual environment’s interpreter:

Let’s go a little further with the configuration:

In [1-2], enter the configuration mode of IDE;
In [3-4], configure system options;
In [5], no confirmation before exiting IDE;
In [6], when exiting IDE and there is a running process launched by the executed code, stop that process;
In [7], when IDE is launched, the last used project is not automatically reopened. The user is allowed to choose their project;
In [8], when the user manages multiple projects at the same time, each project has its own window;
In [9], we have specified the default folder for our project;

Now we can start coding. Let’s begin by creating a folder where we’ll place our first Python script:

Right-click on the project, then select [1-3] to create a folder;
In [4], type the folder name: it will be created in the project folder;

Then let’s create a Python script:

Right-click on the [bases] folder, then select [1-4]:

Remember that we included the Git version control system in our project. This was done when creating the project, where we checked the option Git option. Git can take snapshots of the project at different stages of its development. Here in [1-3], IDE asks us if we want to include the file [bases.py] that we are currently creating in the snapshot. We answer yes [3]. Additionally, we check [2] so that this is done automatically whenever a file is created. We’ll briefly revisit Git a little later;
In [4-5], the script [bases_01] has been created and is ready to be edited;

Let’s write our first script:

Lines 1, 3: comments begin with the # symbol;
Line 2: initialization of a variable. Python does not declare the type of its variables;
Line 4: screen output. The syntax used here is [format % données] with:
- format: name=%s where %s denotes the location of a string. This string will be found in the [données] part of the expression;
- data: the value of the variable [nom] will replace the %s format in the format string;
With [1-2], the code is reformatted according to the recommendations of the Python governing body. You can also type the Ctrl-Alt-L sequence on the keyboard;

In the screenshot, we can see that some text is underlined. PyCharm flags spelling errors in comments and strings. It refers to them as typos. By default, it is configured for English text. To prevent it from flagging typos in French, proceed as follows:

In [1-2], configure IDE;
In [3-6], disable option and [Proofreading] in the editor;

In [7], the typo alerts have disappeared. The script is executed by clicking the [8] icon on the main toolbar. The result is as follows:

In [1-2], a results window has opened;
In [3], we can see that the code from [bases_01.py] was executed by the Python interpreter in the project’s virtual environment;
In [4], the result of the execution;

To run the scripts in this document, download the code from URL |Generate a Python script using IA tools| (OneDrive cloud) and then in PyCharm, proceed as follows:

In [1-2], close the project you are currently working on;

In [1], select option [Projects];
In the [2] window, you will see a list of the most recent projects you have worked on;
In [3], you indicate that you want to open an existing project;

In [1], open the folder you downloaded;

In [1-2], the project PyCharm;

Let’s configure this project to have a virtual execution environment:

In [1-2], configure the new project;

In [3-4], configure an interpreter for the project;

In [5-6], we select a virtual execution environment;

In [7], the new Python interpreter used for the project;

Once this is done, you can run the project’s scripts: