A Comparative Evaluation of Python IDEs and Interpreters on Android Mobile Devices:

Implications for Teaching Programming Concepts.

Abstract

Programming is a major part of software engineering. There are many programming languages, paradigms, frameworks and Integrated development environment (IDE) software’s used to teach programming concepts today. Access to personal computers or computer labs is poor or non-existent for students in developing countries due to socio-economic challenges. One useful resource is the growing availability of cheaper Android mobile devices in developing countries. With the right applications and editors, these mobile devices can be used to practically teach programming with hands-on programming experience by students of these developing countries. This article provides a comparative analysis of Python Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and interpreters available for mobile Android devices, focusing on their suitability for teaching programming concepts. We evaluate several popular Python IDEs and interpreters tailored for Android mobile devices. The subsequent sections provide a comprehensive comparison of five popular mobile Python programming IDE applications. The comparison covers their respective advantages and disadvantages, ease of use, installation, features, performance, Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Random-Access Memory (RAM) resources usage. The aim is to guide educators and learners in selecting the most appropriate tool for teaching and learning programming concepts using Python on Android mobile devices.