Add ability to exclude Python Environment from Python Extension

[DonJayamanne]

Currently the Jupyter extension has the ability to hide Python Environments from showing up in the Kernel picker
One of the use cases is to hide the default Python Env in docker (dev) containers from Jupyter extension as they do not work (due to lack of Pip or the like) & these containers have other Environments like Conda or the like that is preferred.

I feel that this would apply to Python extension as well, i.e. if a user tries to debug Python code or the like, one wouldn't want to see the Python Env thats not working (I.e. the creators of the Container would want to ensure users of that container always use a specific Python environment or never use a specific Python env).

Can we have a setting or the like that would take an array of Python environment paths that would exclude Python Environments from the Python Extension, this would then flow onto Jupyter as well & other extensions.

[karthiknadig]

@DonJayamanne This looks like 3 separate asks, let me try to para phrase what I understood

1. Provide a way to filter environments shown by the select environment quick pick.
2. Provide a way to set an environment to use in cases like a container.
3. Provide a setting to ignore certain paths from search for environments.

For 2, if someone is creating a container, they should be using python.defaultInterpreterPath to pre-select/force the python to be used for that workspace. since they control the container, they can remove what is not needed from the container.

/cc @karrtikr

[DonJayamanne]

to pre-select/force the python to be used for that workspace. since they control the container, they can remove what is not needed from the container.

With the Jupyter extension its not possible to pre-select kernels, users must always select a kernel.
However since they have multiple python environments users will end up selecting the wrong python env.

since they control the container, they can remove what is not needed from the container.

Not sure this is true.
Many linux container come with Python and what they do is install Conda or the like into them, thus we end up with the default Python environment as well as conda environments.

[karrtikr]

Preferred environments for a container can be specified using "python.defaultInterpreterPath" setting, maybe Jupyter could adopt that or at least highlight the configured env in the kernel list when selecting for the first time.

If a docker has a faulty environment and the idea here is to let them specify a setting to exclude those envs from the list, they can remove what is not needed from container instead. Since there is no use for such envs.