You will need to install certain tools that will be used throughout the course.
Install a text editor
Visual Studio Code can be found here and is available for all platforms, but you are free to use any code editor you choose. Popular choices include Atom and Sublime Text.
Install Git
Git is used to track the state of your code over time. GitHub has built its platform on Git technology. We will be using both Git and GitHub in this class to distribute code, submit assignments, and offer feedback. Git can be downloaded and installed from this URL.
Configure Git
In order to interact with Git, you'll need to first open the Git Bash utility. A quick way to access this terminal is by right clicking your desktop and choosing "Git Bash".
Copy and paste the following two commands (separately) into your terminal. Replace the name and email address values with your own.
git config --global user.name "YOUR NAME"
git config --global user.email "YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS"(source: GitHub)
Next, copy and paste one of the following commands into your terminal, based on which text editor you'll be using:
Visual Studio Code:
git config --global core.editor "code -w"Sublime:
git config --global core.editor "subl -n -w"Atom:
git config --global core.editor "atom -w"Install Node Refer to the package installer on Node’s website. Select the Current version (labeled "Latest Features"). Then just follow the set-up instructions.
Configure Node
Copy and paste the following command into the Git Bash utility:
npm get prefixSelect the path value that's returned from this command, then copy it to the Clipboard (ctrl + C) to use below.
Next, copy and paste the following command:
notepad ~/.bashrcThe Notepad application opens, displaying a blank document.
Within this document, type export PATH=", then paste the path you copied above in Git Bash, then type /bin:$PATH"
Save your changes, then close Notepad.
When you’re done, raise your hand and ask a member of the instructional team to verify that the installation was successful. Then complete the instructions in the section 2. Setting up GitHub below.
We will be using the GitHub service to share some of our code. We will learn
about the underlying technology of GitHub known as git in the next lesson.
ssh git@github.comYou should see output similar to:
Hi <you>! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.
Connection to github.com closed.
Error installing due to permissions
Permissions issues are common when installing programs on the terminal. In order to install command line utilities, you need to be signed into a user account on your computer with administrator-level rights. If you have trouble with this, please ask a member of the instructional team for help.
Google is your friend
Even experienced programmers occasionally need to look up error messages on Google. If you experience an error, it’s likely that someone else has experienced the error, as well. To find the fix, copy and paste the error message into Google, but remove content specific to your computer to ensure the accuracy of your search. You will most likely find a reference to your specific error. StackOverflow is a trustworthy reference.
Common Issues and Fixes:
We recommend the following remedies to issues that commonly arise during the installation of command line utilities:
Mac users may run into the problem of an outdated version of Git installed with Xcode being given precedence in the terminal. If you experience this issue, you’ll need to adjust your shell path by following the instructions under "Trumping Xcode's Older Git" in this article.
Mac users running OS 10.11 or later may need to disable the System Integrity Protection on their machine before installing certain command line utilities.
Students experiencing an EACCES error should change directory permissions to install Node and npm without the need to use sudo:
sudo chown -R $(whoami) /usr/local/lib/node_modules
Students with Homebrew installed on their machines should run brew update in order to get the latest version of Homebrew.
Students who need to update their installations of npm can run npm install -g npm.
Students with an existing, outdated installation of Node can update their install by following the directions above (i.e., using the package installer).