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eric (software)
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<h2 id="license-price-and-distribution">License, price and distribution</h2> <p>eric is licensed under the <a href="/facts/GNU_General_Public_License/S75KhLSX">GNU General Public License version 3 or later</a> and is thereby <a href="/facts/Free_Software/IaoVtJXn">Free Software</a>. This means in general terms that the <a href="/facts/Source_code/o9J6Jv23">source code</a> of eric can be studied, changed and improved by anyone, that eric can be run for any purpose by anyone and that eric - and any changes or improvements that may have been made to it - can be redistributed by anyone to anyone as long as the license is not changed (<a href="/facts/Copyleft/DHjTyl7C">copyleft</a>). </p><p>eric can be downloaded at <a href="/facts/SourceForge/lxYAgUAX">SourceForge</a> and installed manually with a python installer script.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> Most major <a href="/facts/Linux_distribution/0vVl4N4f">Linux distributions</a> include eric in their <a href="/facts/Software_repository/TlX4RM8Y">software repositories</a>, so when using such Linux distributions eric can be obtained and installed automatically by using the <a href="/facts/Package_manager/kEX4kx7g">package manager</a> of the particular distribution.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Additionally, the author offers access to the <a href="/facts/Source_code/o9J6Jv23">source code</a> via a public <a href="/facts/Mercurial/lEkoYb6C">Mercurial</a> repository.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="characteristics">Characteristics</h2> <p>eric is written in Python and uses the <a href="/facts/PyQt/n8x1XTxb">PyQt</a> Python bindings for the <a href="/facts/Qt_(framework)/gVhwlQnJ">Qt</a> <a href="/facts/GUI_toolkit/v8wM8wwy">GUI toolkit</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> By design, eric acts as a front end for several programs, for example the <a href="/facts/QScintilla/SGgVAN82">QScintilla</a> editor widget.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h3>Features</h3> <p>The key features of eric 6 are:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <ul><li>Source code editing: <ul><li>Unlimited number of <a href="/facts/Text_editor/jPCgtbvN">editors</a></li> <li>Configurable window layout</li> <li>Configurable <a href="/facts/Syntax_highlighting/cLCr5a6w">syntax highlighting</a></li> <li>Sourcecode <a href="/facts/Autocomplete/eLNAGYlS">autocompletion</a></li> <li>Sourcecode calltips</li> <li><a href="/facts/Code_folding/vQ0vqmmE">Sourcecode folding</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Brace_matching/XB7B19hL">Brace matching</a></li> <li>Error highlighting</li> <li>Advanced search functionality including project wide search and replace</li> <li>Integrated <a href="/facts/Class_browser/LTnqBswK">class browser</a></li> <li>Integrated profiling and <a href="/facts/Code_coverage/XpYrB543">code coverage</a> support</li></ul></li> <li>GUI designing: <ul><li>Integration of <a href="/facts/Qt_Creator/2kNpQqME">Qt Designer</a>, a <a href="/facts/Graphical_user_interface_builder/nEGfulUQ">Graphical user interface builder</a> for the creation of Qt-based <a href="/facts/Graphical_user_interface/wBlQFWDP">Graphical user interfaces</a></li></ul></li> <li>Debugging, checking, testing and documenting: <ul><li>Integrated graphical python debugger which supports both interactive probing while suspended and auto breaking on exceptions as well as debugging multi-threaded and multiprocessing applications</li> <li>Integrated automatic code checkers (syntax, errors and style, PEP-8) for <a href="/facts/Static_program_analysis/b56nr6QM">static program analysis</a> as well as support of <a href="/facts/Pylint/okBNETYx">Pylint</a> via plug-in</li> <li>Integrated source code documentation system</li> <li>Integrated <a href="/facts/Unit_testing/SYoGGS3T">unit testing</a> support by having the option to run python code with command-line parameters</li> <li>Integrated interface to the enchant spell checking library</li> <li>Application diagrams</li></ul></li> <li>Version control: <ul><li>Integrated <a href="/facts/Version_control/pxCmFXqK">version control</a> support for <a href="/facts/Mercurial/lEkoYb6C">Mercurial</a> and <a href="/facts/Apache_Subversion/b5j9wAbt">Subversion</a> repositories (as core plug-ins) and <a href="/facts/Git_(software)/U5Ty9QmQ">git</a> (as optional plug-in)</li></ul></li> <li>Project management and collaboration: <ul><li>Advanced project management facilities</li> <li>Integrated task management with a self-updating <a href="/facts/To-do_list/g2kdl0C8">To-do list</a></li> <li>Integrated cooperation functions (chat, shared editor)</li></ul></li> <li>Other: <ul><li>Integrated web browser</li> <li>Integrated support for <a href="/facts/Django_(web_framework)/TjPPmvSg">Django</a> (as optional plug-in)</li> <li>Running external applications from within the IDE</li> <li>Interactive Python shell including syntax highlighting and autocompletion</li> <li>Integrated CORBA support based on omniORB</li> <li>Integrated rope refactoring tool (as optional plug-in)</li> <li>Integrated interface to cx_freeze (as optional plug-in)</li> <li>Many integrated wizards for regex and Qt dialogs (as core plug-ins)</li> <li>Tools for previewing Qt forms and translations</li></ul></li></ul> <h3>Support for Python 2 and 3</h3> <p>Prior to the release of eric version 5.5.0, eric version 4 and eric version 5 coexisted and were maintained simultaneously, while eric 4 was the variant for writing software in Python version 2 and eric version 5 was the variant for writing software in Python version 3. </p><p>With the release of eric version 5.5.0 both variants had been merged into one, so that all versions as of eric version 5.5.0 support writing software in Python 2 as well as in Python 3, making the separate development lanes of eric version 4 and 5 obsolete. Those two separate development lanes are no longer maintained, and the last versions prior to merging them both to 5.5.0 were versions 4.5.25 and 5.4.7.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h3>Gallery</h3> <h2 id="releases">Releases</h2> <h3>Versioning scheme</h3> <p>Until 2016, eric used a <a href="/facts/Software_versioning/EP8VXAUU">software versioning</a> scheme with a three-sequence identifier, e.g. 5.0.1. The first sequence represents the major version number which is increased when there are significant jumps in functionality, the second sequence represents the minor number, which is incremented when only some features or significant fixes have been added, and the third sequence is the revision number, which is incremented when minor bugs are fixed or minor features have been added. </p><p>From late 2016, the version numbers show the year and month of release, e.g. 16.11 for November 2016.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h3>Release strategy</h3> <p>eric follows the <a href="/facts/List_of_software_development_philosophies/5K3JNWYT">development philosophy</a> of <i><a href="/facts/Release_early%2c_release_often/BNJe9wQN">Release early, release often</a></i>, following loosely a time-based release schedule. Currently a revision version is released around the first weekend of every month, a minor version is released annually, in most cases approximately between December and February. </p> <h3>Version history</h3> <p>The following table shows the version history of eric, starting from version 4.0.0. Only major (e.g. 6.0.0) and minor (e.g. 6.1.0) releases are listed; revision releases (e.g. 6.0.1) are omitted. </p> Legend:Old version, not maintainedOld version, still maintainedLatest versionLatest preview versionFuture version <table><tbody><tr><th>Branch</th><th>Version</th><th>Release date</th><th>Major changes</th></tr><tr><td rowspan="6">4</td><td>Old version, not maintained: 4.0.0</td><td>2007-06-03</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 4.1.0</td><td>2008-02-03</td><td><ul><li>Added <a href="/facts/Plug-in_(computing)/351Du3Wu">plug-in</a> system<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li><li>Added support for <a href="/facts/Django_(web_framework)/TjPPmvSg">Django</a> and <a href="/facts/TurboGears/6qyQBskU">TurboGears</a> (later transformed to plug-ins)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 4.2.0</td><td>2008-08-09</td><td><ul><li>Added a toolbar manager</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 4.3.0</td><td>2009-02-08</td><td><ul><li>Changed license to GPL "v3 or later"</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 4.4.0</td><td>2010-01-09</td><td><ul><li>Changed the help viewer to a full blown web browser (based on QtWebKit)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 4.5.0</td><td>2012-02-04</td><td><ul><li>Added Mac OS X to the officially supported platforms<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="6">5</td><td>Old version, not maintained: 5.0.0</td><td>2010-07-04</td><td><ul><li>The eric 5 branch represents the new Python 3 variant of eric. It is <i>not</i> supporting Python 2 (yet). For Python 2 support the development of the eric 4 branch is continued.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 5.1.0</td><td>2011-02-27</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 5.2.0</td><td>2012-02-18</td><td><ul><li>Added Mac OS X to the officially supported platforms<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 5.3.0</td><td>2013-02-03</td><td><ul><li>Added support for Qt5<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 5.4.0</td><td>2014-01-07</td><td><ul><li>Added support for PyQt5 projects<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 5.5.0</td><td>2014-10-27</td><td><ul><li>Added Python 2 support to the eric 5 branch, so that from now on both, Python 3 and Python 2, are supported by one single version of eric, making the eric 4 branch for Python 2 obsolete, which is not further continued<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">6</td><td>Old version, not maintained: 6.0.0</td><td>2014-12-28</td><td><ul><li>eric 6 replaces the eric 5.5.x line of development. It is usable with any combination of Python 2 or Python 3, Qt5 or Qt4 and PyQt5 or PyQt4, on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows platforms</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 6.1.0</td><td>2015-12-05</td><td><ul><li>Added multithreading support for checkers to make use of multiple CPUs/CPU-Cores<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">16</td><td>Old version, not maintained: 16.11</td><td>2016-11-12</td><td><ul><li>Switching the release scheme<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 16.12</td><td>2016-12-03</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="12">17</td><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.01</td><td>2017-01-01</td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.02</td><td>2017-02-04</td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.03</td><td>2017-03-03</td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.04</td><td>2017-04-07</td><td><ul><li>Minimum required Python versions increased: Python 2 - 2.7.10; Python 3 - 3.4.0</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.05</td><td>2017-05-06</td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.06</td><td>2017-06-03</td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.07</td><td>2017-07-02</td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.08</td><td>2017-08-03</td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.09</td><td>2017-09-01</td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.10</td><td>2017-10-07</td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.11</td><td>2017-11-03</td></tr><tr><td>Old version, not maintained: 17.12</td><td>2017-12-02</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="12">18</td><td>Latest version: 18.01</td><td>2018-01-06</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.02</td><td>2018-02-03</td><td><ul><li>Added support for attributes introduced with Qt 5.9 and Qt 5.10<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a></li><li>New session file format</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.03</td><td>2018-03-04</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.04</td><td>2018-04-02</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.05</td><td>2018-05-01</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.06</td><td>2018-06-02</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.07</td><td>2018-07-07</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.08</td><td>2018-08-02</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.09</td><td>2018-09-02</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.10</td><td>2018-10-03</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.11</td><td>2018-11-01</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 18.12</td><td>2018-12-01</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="12">19</td><td>Latest version: 19.01</td><td>2019-01-10</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.02</td><td>2019-02-02</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.03</td><td>2019-03-02</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.04</td><td>2019-04-06</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.05</td><td>2019-05-04</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.06</td><td>2019-06-02</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.07</td><td>2019-07-07</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.08</td><td>2019-08-03</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.09</td><td>2019-09-07</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.10</td><td>2019-10-03</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.11</td><td>2019-11-01</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 19.12</td><td>2019-12-07</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">20</td><td>Latest version: 20.01</td><td>2020-01-01</td></tr><tr><td>Latest version: 20.02</td><td>2020-02-02</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="name">Name</h2> <p>Several allusions are made to the British comedy group <a href="/facts/Monty_Python/tNPcRLty">Monty Python</a>, which the Python programming language is named after. Eric alludes to <a href="/facts/Eric_Idle/8zfXrh4j">Eric Idle</a>, a member of the group, as does <a href="/facts/IDLE_(Python)/QfTISkwK">IDLE</a>, the standard python IDE shipped with most distributions.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="criticism">Criticism</h2> <p>The Eric Python IDE does not feature an <a href="/facts/Toolchain/SmlWCJhY">integrated toolchain</a> for now. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li>Free and open-source software portal</li></ul> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eric (software). <ul><li><a href="/facts/Comparison_of_integrated_development_environments/c9BGym0G">Comparison of integrated development environments for Python</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org">Official website</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Sourceforge: Eric Integrated Development Environment <a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/eric-ide" target="_blank">https://sourceforge.net/projects/eric-ide</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Ubuntu package search: eric <a href="http://packages.ubuntu.com/search?keywords=eric&searchon=names&suite=all§ion=all" target="_blank">http://packages.ubuntu.com/search?keywords=eric&searchon=names&suite=all§ion=all</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Official website: Access information for mercurial repository <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-code.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-code.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Reitz, Kenneth; Schlusser, Tanya (August 30, 2016). The Hitchhiker's Guide to Python: Best Practices for Development. O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 31. ISBN 9781491933237. Retrieved January 18, 2019. <a href="9781491933237" target="_blank">9781491933237</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Charney, Reg (August 30, 2004). "Programming Tools: Eric3". Linux Journal. Retrieved January 18, 2019. <a href="https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7739" target="_blank">https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7739</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>eric-ide.python-projects.org: Features <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>eric news 2014 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2014.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2014.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>eric news 2016 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2016.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2016.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>eric news 2007 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2007.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2007.html</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>eric news 2007 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2007.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2007.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>eric news 2010 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2010.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2010.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>eric news 2012 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2012.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2012.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>eric news 2010 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2010.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2010.html</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>eric news 2012 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2012.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2012.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>eric news 2013 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2013.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2013.html</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>eric news 2014 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2014.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2014.html</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>eric news 2014 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2014.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2014.html</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>eric news 2015 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2015.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2015.html</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>eric news 2016 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2016.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news-2016.html</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>eric news 2018 <a href="https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news.html" target="_blank">https://eric-ide.python-projects.org/eric-news.html</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Bidwell, Jonni (April 14, 2018). "Best IDE for Python in 2018". TechRadar. Retrieved January 18, 2019. <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/best-ide-for-python" target="_blank">https://www.techradar.com/news/best-ide-for-python</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>