This guide will walk you through installing the software you’ll need for the course. Before diving in it’s worth understanding what you’re about to do at a high level.
First, you should be sure your operating system is up-to-date. If you did not already move through the Operating System Update steps, then go ahead and do that.
Next, you’ll install the software needed to write your own programs in the course. In general, to write your own programs you need two kinds of software installed: a programming language toolkit and a text editor designed for programming. For this course we’ll explore programming with the Python programming language using the Visual Studio Code text editor. These are two of the most widely used tools of their kind in 2020 and are highly applicable beyond the scope of this course.
Follow the instructions for your operating system, either Windows 10 or macOS.
Before beginning, be sure you are using the latest version of Windows 10.
For these steps, be sure your web browser Window is maximized and be sure to follow step 4.0 closely that checks the option “Add Python 3.8 to Path” during install.
Windows x86 executable installer.**Reboot your computer now. Some settings of the applications you just installed will not take effect until you reboot. Attempting to continue on from this point without rebooting will lead to strange errors later.
Once you’ve completed this, you’ve got the necessary software installed! Great work!
Before beginning, be sure you are using the latest version of macOS.
There are two pieces of jargon in the title of this section. A “shell” is a program that serves as a concierge to your computer: you give it commands, such as asking it to run a program you’re working on, and the shell does the work of carrying out your command. A “terminal” is the program you will use to interact with your shell. Apple recently updated its recommended shell software to Z-shell, or zsh, so let’s be sure yours is configured to use it.
Command + Spacebar or clicking the search icon near your clock, type Terminal and press enter. This starts the Terminal app, which may look like what hackers use in the movies, because it is.echo $SHELL (yes, that’s the word echo, followed by a space, and then a dollar sign followed immediately by the word SHELL in all capital letters, $SHELL)/bin/bash in the text “printed” below your command, continue to next step to update your default. If, instead, you see /bin/zsh, you are all set and can jump to step 6.bash instead of zsh, let’s change your default shell using the chsh program to be the location, or path, of the zsh shell program on your computer which is /bin/zsh. Type the following command, check that yours matches exactly, in both spaces and capitalization, and press enter: chsh -s /bin/zshexit, close your Terminal again. Go back up to step 0, and continue from there, to confirm it was successful.exit, pressing enter, and then closing your Terminal window.For these steps, be sure your Web Browser window is maximized.
macOS 64-bit installer.python3 --version, notice the 3 after the word python and two dashes at the front of --version, and press enter. You should see Python 3.8.5 (or greater) which indicates your install was successful. If not, try the steps above one more time and restart your computer before trying these. Otherwise, come work with us in office hours!python --version, without the 3 from above. If you see Python 2.X.YY, where X and YY are irrelevant numbers, continue to the next step because Mac also includes a much older version of Python. This is confusing when you’re trying to learn modern Python! If you see the result Python 3.8.5 then you are all set and can continue to the next section on installing git.python refer to the latest version you just installed, not the old one. What the following command is doing is making a link between the name python and the version you just installed. The command is more advanced than where we are at, so do not worry yourself on its details. You should copy and paste the following command into your Terminal, and press enter, because the punctuation symbols need to match precisely.sudo ln -s "$(which python3)" "$(dirname $(which python3))/python"
If you are prompted for a password, enter your computer’s password. You will not see any indication of your keystrokes show up as you type in your password, but they are being recorded. Press enter after typing your password invisibly.
exit command, press enter, close your terminal. Go back to Step 0 and continue on until confirming python --version is successfully linked to Python 3.8.5 or greater.Command + Space or the search icon by your clock) and search for “Code”. You should see Visual Studio Code in the results. Open it and it will likely ask to confirm it’s OK to open a file downloaded off the internet. Accept.Once you’ve completed this, you’ve got the necessary software installed! Great work!