I noticed that python scripts work wonderfully in the IDE, but fail when run from a terminal window.

Further examination disclosed that the version of python used with the IDE, (Thonny), is 3.7.3, but the version used by the terminal is 2.7.16.

I would have thought that both the IDE and the terminal would automagically use the same version, but apparently this is not true.

1. Why is this so?
2. Obviously python 3.7.3 is installed on this latest (?) How can I fix this because firebase doesn't work in this version.

 

The command 'python' is probably a symbolic link pointing to the 2.7 version. Run this command to see what's going on:

ls -l /usr/bin/python*

You can manually delete the link and create a new one that points to the desired version, though your OS may have a mechanism to handle this for you. Alternatively, you can simply call the correct binary -- probably something like 'python3.7' -- directly.