Announcing the EAP for JetBrains DataSpell, Our New Data Science IDE

Andrey Cheptsov

With the emergence of Python as the go-to language for data science, it was only natural for JetBrains’ PyCharm to be eventually equipped with data science features. Based on the feedback that our team received over the past year, we have been working to significantly improve PyCharm’s support for data science. During this process, it became evident that data scientists and software developers have different workflows and expectations of their tools.

As a result of that process, we decided that the best course of action would be to use PyCharm’s IDE engine as the foundation for a brand new IDE that is focused solely on data science. Today we are thrilled to share some of the details about this new IDE with you and also invite you to join its EAP.

The working name of the IDE is JetBrains DataSpell (the final name may change when it’s released). JetBrains DataSpell offers a productive developer environment for data science professionals who are actively involved in exploratory data analysis and prototyping machine learning models.

To sign up for the EAP, please submit the short form on the official page. Please note that we will send invitations gradually and not to everyone at once. Don’t worry—after you’ve signed up, you’re guaranteed to get an invite in your Inbox sooner or later.

JetBrains DataSpell will offer native support for Jupyter notebooks:

• The Jupyter Notebook experience will be an enhanced version of web-based Jupyter. The outputs are displayed underneath cells. The visual appearance of the notebooks will be similar to the traditional web-based Jupyter notebooks. The IDE will be able to switch between Command mode and Editor mode for easier manipulation of cells and their content. The enhancements will include intelligent coding assistance for Python, out-of-the-box table of contents, folding tracebacks, and interactive tables, among other things.
• Cell outputs will support both Markdown and JavaScript (e.g. Plotly, Bokeh, IPyWidgets, etc.).
• The IDE will support local Jupyter notebooks as well as remote Jupyter, JupyterHub, and JupyterLab servers.

JetBrains DataSpell will support Python scripts equally well, offering a scientific REPL for running code as well many additional tools for working with data and data visualizations (both static and interactive).

Even though Python will be the primary short-term focus for JetBrains DataSpell, support for R, and eventually other data science languages, will be added as well. Basic support for R is already bundled, even though it is limited.

Currently, JetBrains DataSpell is still under heavy development. The first EAP builds that you’ll try as part of the EAP program will have limitations:

• The support for remote notebooks are categorized as “Experimental features”. This means that by default this support is disabled and it must be explicitly enabled by the user in Settings. The user experience of remote notebooks will be significantly reworked before the public release.
• The support for JavaScript outputs may not always be smooth (e.g. scrolling sometimes doesn’t work perfectly), but it will be improved in future versions.

FAQ

Q: Why introduce a new IDE in addition to PyCharm Professional Edition?

With JetBrains products, we always try to offer a great user experience and not just features.

JetBrains DataSpell’s interface will focus on data as much as on code. Features that relate to working with data will be prioritized. This will be reflected in the layout of the tool windows, main menu, actions, etc.

JetBrains DataSpell will treat the codebase more as a workspace than a project. Within this workspace, the user will be able to switch between tasks and re-use notebooks just like they re-use configured environments.

Overall, we expect DataSpell to be a more practical and efficient environment for working with data.

In order to provide the best possible experience, we’d like to offer users a choice over their environment based on the way they use our tools.

Q: When will the new functionality make it into PyCharm Professional Edition?

As soon as JetBrains DataSpell is officially released, though there is no specific date yet.

Q: How do I choose which product to use: JetBrains DataSpell or PyCharm Professional Edition?

If you’re involved in both data science and development, we recommend you use PyCharm Professional Edition. If you’re involved more in data science than development, we recommend you use JetBrains DataSpell.

Q: Will the new data science functionality be available with PyCharm Community Edition?

No. There are no plans to include it in the community version.

Q: Will JetBrains DataSpell support other languages than Python? How about R, Julia, and others?

One of the purposes of JetBrains DataSpell is to provide a multi-language data science platform. Because Python is the most popular language for data science, we plan to focus on it in the first place. Once Python support is polished enough, we’ll also look at other languages one by one, e.g. first R, then Julia, and then others. For the record, the basic support for R is already available.

Q: Will JetBrains DataSpell bundle database integration?

Yes.

Q: Will JetBrains DataSpell bundle web development capabilities?

No. PyCharm Professional Edition is the best option for web development combined with data science.

Q: Will JetBrains DataSpell be a free or a paid product? What is the pricing going to be?

We plan for DataSpell to be a paid product priced similar to other JetBrains IntelliJ-based IDEs (such as DataGrip, PyCharm Professional Edition, etc.).

Q: Why is the EAP private and why does it require registration? Will you spam me?

We won’t spam you. The email you register with will be only used to send the final invitation to try the product when we’re sure it’s suitable for your use case.

In the registration form, we ask about your use case, whether you have prior PyCharm experience, whether you work with local or remote notebooks, how often you use Jupyter notebooks, and so on. We may contact you later to ask for feedback.

You’re welcome to ask questions, and by all means, feel free to spread the news!

The JetBrains team

JetBrains 的全新数据科学 IDE，DataSpell EAP 现已发布！

Lei

由于 Python 现已成为数据科学的首选语言，JetBrains 的 PyCharm 必须配备数据科学功能。 根据我们团队在过去一年中收到的反馈，我们在努力大幅改进 PyCharm 对数据科学的支持。 在这一过程中，我们发现，数据科学家和软件开发人员都有不同的工作流程和对其工具的期望。

因此，我们决定以 PyCharm 的 IDE 引擎作为一个全新的 IDE 的基础，打造出更专注于数据科学的工具。今天，我们很高兴与大家分享这个新 IDE 的一些独特功能，同时也邀请大家加入它的 EAP（早期试用计划）。

这个 IDE 的正式名字叫 JetBrains DataSpell（最终名称可能会在发布时改变）。 JetBrains DataSpell 为积极从事探索性数据分析和机器学习模型原型设计的数据科学专业人士提供了一个高效的开发环境。

JetBrains DataSpell 将为 Jupyter 笔记本提供本地支持：

• Jupyter Notebook 的体验将是基于 Web 的 Jupyter 的增强版。 输出显示在单元格下方。 Notebook 的外观将与传统基于 Web 的 Jupyter Notebook 相似。 IDE 将能够在命令模式和编辑模式之间切换，以便于对单元格及其内容进行操作。 增强功能包括 Python 的智能编码辅助、开箱即用的目录、折叠回溯和交互式表格等。
• 单元格输出将支持 Markdown 和 JavaScript（如 Plotly、Bokeh、IPyWidgets 等）。
• IDE 将支持本地 Jupyter Notebook 以及远程 Jupyter、JupyterHub 和 JupyterLab 服务器。

JetBrains DataSpell 将同样支持 Python 脚本，为运行代码提供一个科学 REPL，以及提供许多额外的工具来处理数据和数据可视化（包括静态式和交互式）。

尽管 JetBrains DataSpell 短期内将专注于 Python，但也会添加对 R，以及最终对其他数据科学语言的支持。 对 R 的基本支持已经与当前版本捆绑，目前它的支持仍然有限。

我们正在努力开发 JetBrains DataSpell。 作为 EAP 计划的一部分，第一批 EAP 版本将有一些限制：

• 对远程 Notebook 的支持被归类为”实验性功能”。 这意味着默认情况下，这项支持是被禁用的，必须由用户在设置中明确启用。 远程 Notebook 的用户体验将在公开发布前进行重大改进。
• 对 JavaScript 输出的支持可能并不总是流畅的（例如，滚动有时不能正常应用），但它将在未来的版本中得到改进。

常见问题解答

问：为什么要在 PyCharm Professional 版之外推出新的 IDE？

除了提供强大功能以外，我们一直试图为 JetBrains 用户带来更好的使用体验。

JetBrains DataSpell 的界面不仅会关注代码，也会关注数据。 与数据工作相关的功能具有高优先级。 这将体现在工具窗口、主菜单、操作等的布局中。

JetBrains DataSpell 将把代码库是为工作空间而不是项目。 在这个工作空间内，用户将能够在任务之间切换，并像重复使用配置环境一样重复使用 Notebook。

总的来说，我们希望 DataSpell 能够成为一个更加实用和高效的数据工作环境。

为了提供最好的体验，我们希望根据用户使用我们工具的习惯，为他们提供对环境的更多选择。

问：新功能何时会纳入 PyCharm Professional 版？

一旦 JetBrains DataSpell 正式发布，不过目前还没有具体日期。

问：在 JetBrains DataSpell 和 PyCharm Professional 版之间如何选择使用哪个产品？

问：PyCharm Community 版是否可以使用新的数据科学功能？

问：JetBrains DataSpell 是否会捆绑数据库集成？

会的。

问：JetBrains DataSpell 是否会捆绑 Web 开发功能？

不会。PyCharm Professional 版是结合数据科学进行 Web 开发的最佳选择。

我们计划将 DataSpell 发部为付费产品，定价与其他基于 JetBrains IntelliJ 的 IDE（如 DataGrip、PyCharm Professional 版等）类似。

问：为什么 EAP 不是公开的，为什么需要注册？ 你们会不会给我发垃圾邮件？

我们绝不会向您发送垃圾邮件。 您注册的电子邮件地址只会在我们确定产品适合您的用例时，才会发出最终的试用邀请。

在注册表格中，我们会询问一些基本资料， 如您的用例、您是否之前用过 PyCharm、您是使用本地还是远程 Notebook、您使用 Jupyter Notebook 的频率，等等。 我们以后可能会联系您，征求您的反馈。

欢迎您提出问题以及并告诉更多的人这个发布信息!

JetBrains 团队