Is MacBook Air 2017 used for programming viz Java or Python and also for Web development? I'm planning to buy a MacBook Air 2017 8 GB RAM with 256 GB SSD. The reason I'm going with a MacBook Air is primarily for portability and Battery life, since I see that it gives at least 10 hours.

Is it good for performing the below activities? Please suggest. I have looked into MacBook Pro line as well, since, it is heavy, it would be difficult to carry around where ever i go.

My Primary Work:

I would like to do only programming on this laptop, by installing IntelliJ IDEA IDE, PyCharm and WebStorm etc.
I primarily work on programming languages such as Java, Python and Node.js for web development (even though am very new to web development)... I would like to run couple of containers on this device.

I forgot to mention earlier that, in INDIA, we are having a amazon sale of Air 2017, which might end soon, hence, i was interested in going only for Macbook Air and nothing else, for now.
To answer your question about the Air: Yes.  

You may want to consider broader options as well. For MacBooks in general, the biggest advantage to doing development on a them is that you get XCode and the best possible experience when developing iPhone/iPad apps and Mac apps. 

However in your case, it seems you're not doing mobile development, and price and/or weight are a concern since you're considering a MacBook Air.

if you're open to windows, take a look at something like the HP x360 which is well reviewed and has advantages over the MacBook air:


MBA is limited to 8 GB of RAM, while the HP allows 16 GB. This can be significant for software development.
MBA only supports old style USB 3. The HP supports USB type C 3 .1 that can charge the laptop or drive an external monitor.
HP has a watch band hinge that allows folding the screen back to be like the tablet. Not a big use case but actually helpful sometimes.
MBA resolution is 1440x900, while the HP resolution is full HD 1080p.


Price and battery life are very similar between the two in a 256GB/8GB configuration.

Of course, Apple consistently has the best support and ability to use their stores.

If you have a hard requirement to stay on the Apple platform, I would suggest reconsidering the MacBook Pro 13. In general it's better suited to be a development machine, and it's really not that heavy to carry around.