Tutorials/Tutorial 0
Tools for Python Plugin Development
IDE
Compared to java development, python development is comparatively hassle-free, since python is neither compiled, nor has static typing, so the need to use some heavy-weight IDE is diminished quite a bit. Nonetheless a good IDE makes work a lot easier, so while you can write your plugins in the default notepad your OS of choice ships, you might wanna get something with a few more helpful features like syntax highlighting, code completion, etc.
These are a few IDEs i personally use or have used, and can recommend
Notepad2
For windows users: Do yourself a favor and replace your standard notepad with notepad2 by default. For everyone: While this lacks code completion, a code explorer, and some other bells and whistles, it has syntax highlighting, line numbering, properly replaces tabs with spaces, and is overall pleasant to work with. Not my default choice for python development, but i often use it for quick and dirty changes, simple python scripts, and as my default text editor on windows because of its simplicity.
Notepad++
Similar to Notepad2, this is basically the standard notepad with a ton of additional features useful for programming and writing markup. Notepad++ also has codefolding (which the standard version of Notepad2 lacks), and supports multiple open files as tabs. It's around halfway between Notepad2 and a full IDE like PyDev or PyScripter. I haven't used it a lot since i find that its neither as simple and clean as Notepad2, nor as powerful as it's bigger cousins, but for people who dislike using 2 separate tools, it might be a good choice.
PyDev
An addon for Eclipse, therefore a good choice if you are used to Eclipse anyways. Has lots of great features, leaves little to be desired. I personally didn't use it a lot yet because it refused to work on my system for no apparent reason, and while that changed since my last computer upgrade, i prefer a lighter IDE to the colossus that is Eclipse.
PyScripter
My personal favorite, and what i use almost exclusively. Has everything you need, and some more, is lightweight, and theres even a portable version around in case you want to code a bit on some pc you don't own without installing anything on it. It's main drawback is that it is Windows only, so for Linux you have to fall back to something else like PyDev. It's an IDE made specifically for python, and it shows. Also has an integrated interpreter running for testing code on the fly, which comes in very handy all the time.
Other Stuff
You don't really need anything besides the IDE to write python plugins, but you might wanna bookmark those pages:
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