What is the difference between Pip and PIP3?

The primary difference between pip and pip3 lies in the Python version they manage packages for: pip3 is specifically for Python 3, while pip's target depends on the system's configuration and context.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

• pip3: This command is explicitly linked to a Python 3 installation. When you use pip3, you're guaranteed to be installing packages for your Python 3 environment. It ensures that packages are installed in the correct site-packages directory for Python 3.

• pip: The behavior of pip depends on how Python is set up on your system.

  • If you only have Python 3 installed, pip will likely default to managing packages for Python 3.
  • If both Python 2 and Python 3 are installed, pip might be associated with either Python 2 or Python 3, depending on the system's default configuration or which environment is currently active (e.g., a virtual environment). In some older systems, pip defaulted to Python 2, causing confusion. Using virtual environments is highly recommended to avoid such ambiguities.

In essence, pip3 offers clarity and prevents accidental installation of packages in the wrong Python environment. If you're working with Python 3, using pip3 is generally the safer and more explicit approach.

Best Practices:

• Use Virtual Environments: Regardless of whether you use pip or pip3, creating a virtual environment (using venv or virtualenv) for each project is highly recommended. Virtual environments isolate project dependencies, preventing conflicts between different projects. When you are in a virtual environment, using pip will install packages into that virtual environment.

• Explicit is Better: When working with Python 3, prefer pip3 to avoid ambiguity.

Example:

Let's say you have both Python 2 and Python 3 installed.

1. If you run pip install requests, it might install the requests library for Python 2.
2. If you run pip3 install requests, it will definitely install the requests library for Python 3.

In summary, pip3 is a version-specific installer for Python 3, while pip can point to either Python 2 or Python 3 depending on your system configuration. Using pip3 is generally recommended for Python 3 development to ensure you're installing packages for the correct environment.