Python: Iteration Plan for September 2024

[kieferrm]

This plan captures our work on the Python Extension in September 2024. We follow the same iteration cycle as VS Code. Although we plan for a whole iteration, we may not only ship at the end of an iteration but throughout.

Legend of annotations

Mark	Description
🏃‍♀️	work in progress
✋	blocked task
💪	stretch goal for this iteration
🔴	missing issue reference
🔵	more investigation required to remove uncertainty
⚫	under discussion within the team
⬛	a large work item, larger than one iteration

Environments

• 🏃‍♀️ ⬛ Incorporate feedback on the environment manager extension; issue; @karthiknadig
• 🏃‍♀️ ⬛ Prep the python extension to allow using environment manager extension when available; issue; @karthiknadig

Terminal

• Implement problem matcher; issue; @anthonykim1
• Use executeCommand and fallback to sendText (activation command, Python executable); issue; @anthonykim1
• Add PYTHONSTARTUP with shell integration to environment variable collection; issue; @anthonykim1

REPL

• 💪 Run in Python REPL for Chat; issue; @anthonykim1
• 🏃‍♀️ Python REPL doesn't handle window reload; issue; @anthonykim1
• 💪 Show "install Jupyter extension" only if users have rich output in REPL; issue; @anthonykim1
• Use Variable pane for REPL; issue; @amunger

Testing

• Implement test coverage for python; issue; @eleanorjboyd

Debugger

• Ramp up on the python-debugger extension; issue; @eleanorjboyd

---

<summary>Deferred Items</summary>

• Formalize Python project/packages structure and content for opinionated flow; issue; @cwebster-99 @karthiknadig

• ⬛ Create content for AI tutorial; issue; @cwebster-99 @luabud

• 💪 Leverage variable pane in Native REPL; issue; @anthonykim1 @amunger

• 💪 Support interrupt for Native REPL on Windows; issue; @anthonykim1

• 💪 Start refactoring code for custom args; issue; @eleanorjboyd

• 🏃 Add launch support for test discovery and execution in settings.json; issue @eleanorjboyd

• Unify venvPath and venvFolders; issue

• Switch to using unittest.main and a custom runner for unittest; issue; @eleanorjboyd

• Understand the problem for git pre-commit hooks; issue @anthonykim1

[corneliusroemer]

@kieferrm Apologies for hijacking this issue, I just wanted to check that the "reactivating terminal" bug (issues #23922 #23982) is on your radar. It's affecting a lot of people as evidenced by the number of commenters (>15) on the issues and the fact that the Stackoverflow question dedicated to the bug keeps getting 100-200 daily views and a lot of upvotes.

Maybe the issue has been resolved in the latest (non-prerelease) release and those reporting just haven't updated, but I've seen at least one report from someone on the latest version, so it might still be happening. Good news is that for me the issues is gone on 2024.14.1 (and latest prerelease v2024.15.202409270) so this might finally be fixed for good once everyone upgrades.

[karthiknadig]

@corneliusroemer We are looking into this. If this is blocking please try the options mentioned in #23922 (comment)

[corneliusroemer]

@karthiknadig Thanks! It's not blocking for me, I've not had the issue for a while.

I'm just concerned that lots of people still seem to encounter the issue in the wild as evidenced by the number of views and votes on the Stackoverflow question.

Just now someone commented that they still see the issue on v2024.14.1 - I asked them to provide debugging info on the tracking issue to help you figure out what's going on.