Python version indicator should show on the right hand side

[bpasero]

Similar to what we do with the TypeScript indicator

[luabud]

Is it documented somewhere what extensions should put it on the right or on the left? We'd like to keep it in the left side since it's workspace related info, while on the right side seems to be about the current opened file.

[bpasero]

@luabud you can have multiple folders opened in the workspace, so is the python version really global across all folders and not per opened file? What if some folders use a different python config?

[DonJayamanne]

so is the python version really global across all folders and not per opened file

In the case of multiple folders, the status bar changes based on the opened editor.

What if some folders use a different python config?

We change the display based on the editor

[brettcannon]

@bpasero it's per-folder (technically in can be down to per .vscode/settings.json). But the git branch changes per-folder for the open file at an even more finer grain as the Python interpreter is tied to .vscode and not potential sub-folders like the git branch.

Is there official guidance in the VS Code extension docs on what should be on the left or right side of the status bar?

[bpasero]

Is there official guidance in the VS Code extension docs on what should be on the left or right side of the status bar?

Will keep you posted once we have something for language indicators.

[mjbvz]

Hey, I don't think this should be blocked on VS Code. We're able to have the status bar entry positioned for JS/TS using the VS Code's standard public apis:

Moving it to the right side would let you avoid duplicating the word python twice in the status bar. Here's what the JS/TS extension does:

https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/blob/3f0aeab1ca42cc732eb83107fa1e6c93d81d872d/extensions/typescript-language-features/src/utils/versionStatus.ts#L141

There's no timeline on a VS code api for showing language status

[brettcannon]

@mjbvz it's not specifically blocked on an official API, just official guidance. The idea of moving it to avoid saying "Python" twice is interesting, but honestly it should say "CPython" to delineate the interpreter and so we won't be saving a word if we do move it (just never bothered since people using other implementations of Python hasn't happened often enough to bother yet).

[mjbvz]

I don't think we have official guidance. C# puts their project info on the left, JS/TS goes right (c++ and Java too I believe).

My gut feeling though based on what I see extensions doing:

• Things relevant to the current file on the right side
• Things relevant to the entire workspace on the left side.

Interpreter can be viewed as fitting in either group, but it'd say it's more of file specific item.

@misolori: do we have any guidance on this? Any opinions?

[DonJayamanne]

Interpreter can be viewed as fitting in either group, but it'd say it's more of file specific item.

FYI - If you have a single workspace open, all python files will share the same interpreter. Hence it doesn't change per file.

However, if you have a multi-root workspace, it could change per file.

[luabud]

My main concern with moving this to the left is discoverability. In user studies we've seen that people usually don't pay much attention to the things on the right side of the status bar as they do to the left side. And for Python, the information about which interpreter is selected is very important as you want to make sure the correct environment was picked up (the one that has the specific version of Python for your project, where your packages are installed etc.)

[luabud]

We discussed about this and we decided we're not moving forward with this idea, as the selected Python environment is related to the workspace itself.