Python: Iteration Plan for February 2025

[kieferrm]

This plan captures our work on the Python Extension in February 2025. 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

Summary for plan reading

• @karthiknadig Create Project flow, and startup activation.
• @eleanorjboyd Copilot integration, package installation, research notebook experience, and debug extension bugs.
• @cwebster-99 Create Project flow spike
• @anthonykim1 Terminal shell integration, Gitbash workspace folder issue

Environments

• 🏃‍♀️ Design package install with permissions for Python Environments; issue; @eleanorjboyd
• 🏃‍♀️ Spike on default Create Project flow; issue; @cwebster-99 @karthiknadig
• Spike on startup activating; issue; @karthiknadig

Terminal

• Ensure Python Terminal Shell Integration setting is effective without reloading; issue; @anthonykim1
• Gitbash terminal not opening to desired workspace folder. issue; @anthonykim1
• Differentiate python command usage in telemetry; issue; @karthiknadig

REPL

N/A

Testing

N/A

Debugger

• 🏃‍♀️ Debug extension bugs; query; @eleanorjboyd

Engineering

N/A

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Deferred Items

- [ ] 💪 cpython upstream fix to adjust terminal cursor to correct place; [issue](https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/126131); @anthonykim1 - [ ] 🏃‍♀️ ✋ Contribute to the coverage.py package through surfacing branch coverage; [issue](https://github.com//issues/24193); @eleanorjboyd

• 💪 Show "install Jupyter extension" only if users have rich output in REPL; issue; @anthonykim1

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

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

• 💪 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

• 💪 Run in Python REPL for Chat; issue; @anthonykim1