Data Notebook for Python, R Gets Reworked for the Web

JupyterLab creates powerful and fluid live data notebooks powered by Python, R, and other superstars of big data programming

Jupyter, the interactive data notebook for visualization and analysis with languages like Python and R, is undergoing a quiet but major reworking into a new product, JupyterLab. Jupyter's popularity extends beyond scientific or technical applications. Developers routinely share code snippets, sample output, and discussions of that output via Jupyter notebooks exported to HTML.

But ongoing struggles with the underlying code and API set have pushed Jupyter's developers to rework the project from the inside out and provide a new UI to match. Last month, Jupyter's developers took to their blog to discuss the details of the still-under-wraps JupyterLab. The code is in an alpha state -- the latest release, as of last week, is version 0.2 -- but the developers are confident even at this early stage that the project's basic direction will be clear.

JupyterLab's new interface is akin to IDEs like Microsoft's Visual Studio, with dockable panels and tabbed controls allowing for multiple workflow styles. JupyterLab uses a web-based UI that's akin to the tab-and-panel interface used in IDEs like Visual Studio or Eclipse. Notebooks, command-line consoles, code editors, language references, and many more items can be arranged in various combinations, powered by the PhosphorJS framework...