Rename python.pythonPath settings

[ksamuel]

The Python PATH is already a very important concept in Python: it's the official name of the list of paths Python is going to loop over to look up things you import. It's regulated by the sys.path variable, but more importantly, the PYTHONPATH env var.

Worse, it is badly understood by a lot of devs. Having a settings in VSCode named python.pythonPath that is completely unrelated is very confusing, especially for new comers.

Now I understand that it's not desirable to remove the settings completely, but it would be great to phase it out little by little (keeping it as an alias for compat), replacing it with the same one, just named differently.

Suggested name: Python executable

I would also suggest mentioning virtualenv in the help text. Currently it states:

Path to Python, you can use a custom version of Python by modifying this setting to include the full path.

So beginners have no idea they can set the virtualenv here. In fact, typing "virtualenv" or "venv" in the setting search bar doesn't show this setting, which it should.

I opened a separate but related issue about a UI to set it: #8645

[brettcannon]

Thank you for the suggestion! We have marked this issue as "needs decision" to make sure we have a conversation about your idea. We plan to leave this feature request open for at least a month to see how many 👍 votes the opening comment gets to help us make our decision.

This is also implicitly covered by #2126 by making the setting less important.

[luabud]

I agree, that's not the best name for the setting.

#2125 for reference.

[luabud]

Closing as the setting is now called defaultInterpreterPath