OK, first things first. What tools will I be using?
After talking to a good friend who is an experienced coder, I decided on the following:
The IDE
Spyder, running Python 3. It seems to have everything I need, including a good debugger, a variable explorer, hot-linking to function definitions, auto-completion typing, Matplotlib, QT, plus a choice of either a Python and iPython console (each with their different strengths). The bundle I went with is Spyder for WinPython-64bit (WinPython-64bit-3.4.4.3Qt5). The QT will be useful later.
Version Control
Git. Essential for version control and backup. Easily configured to collaborate later with other coders. I opted for TortoiseGit, rather than doing everything from the command line.
OS Platform
Though I’ll be using my desktop MacMini and I’m fairly familiar with the various versions of Linux and OS/X, I want to be mobile again, and an Apple Mac PowerBook was out of my price range. It’s been a few years since I’d said ‘good riddance’ to Mr Gates, but I’d also been hearing some positive rumblings about Windows 10.
Plus, I liked the idea of dipping a toe back into the Windows water to test some of my solutions across different platforms. The clincher was that Apple simply didn’t have anything to match the spec of the Lenovo touchscreen system with Intel Core i7 @ 2.1GHz, with 8GB RAM and 250GB SSD.
Blogging Platform
Initially at least, I’m going to try WordPress. I considered building the site from scratch with Django, but I wanted to be up and running quickly, and Django can still be an option for later. Plus, I’ve used Google Blogger before, and I want to evaluate WordPress as a comparison.
So it’s Spyder, Git, Windows 10 and WordPress. For now.
Update
OK, maybe not Windows. See later post The Toolkit – Updated