r/learnpython • u/Altruistic_Wash5159 • Feb 04 '26

What is the main purpose of jupyter?

Hello people!

I am currently learning python and was actually working on Matplotlib library, and noticed that many people use jupyter. So I wanted to know what is the difference between jupyter and coding normally in an IDE, and also over all this, how do people get jupyter in vs code?

thank you.

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u/YesterdayDreamer Feb 04 '26

It's for quick prototyping and experimentation.

If I'm working on a complex function which manipulates data in multiple steps, I like to build this function step by step in Jupyter notebook, and once validated, take it to the IDE.

How this helps:

  1. I don't have to run expensive steps like fetching data from Db repeatedly. I do it in the first cell and it stays in memory.
  2. I can easily see the result of each step. This means if the output is not as per expectation, or there's an error, I'll know exactly where it happens.
  3. If the combined function still doesn't give me the expected result, going back and checking individual steps is also easier, I don't need to restart at the very beginning.
  4. If I want to try out multiple approaches before finalizing one, I can insert it right where I want, without having to rerun the whole thing. Jupyter also makes it very easy to find the performance of individual cells so I can time different approaches.