Today in class, set up your devlopment environment! This is often the first major hurdle you will have to overcome as a developer. The instructors will be around to answer questions and help as needed.
Make a Discord account and join the class Discord. The invite link is on the Canvas page (not posted here because this is a public repository). I highly recommend installing Discord onto both your phone and personal laptop and not relying on the web interface. Communication over Discord will be very important for this course, and it would be best to get timely notifications. However, I realize everyone has their own preferences regarding asynchronous communication.
Important: Once you have joined the class Discord, set your display name to the name you want us to use in class!
Make a Github account and install Github Desktop. This should install git, but during class a few people using MacOS ran into an issue where git did not install correctly. If you are having issues with git, try following this guide for your operating system.
In this course, we will be using Visual Studio Code (generally shortened to VS Code). At its core, VS Code is a highly extensible text editor. This means that its base function is quite simple: you can open and edit files. The best part of VS Code is the extension marketplace, which lets you add bits of functionality as you need them, such as support for different languages. You can even write your own VS Code extensions using the technologies you will learn in this class! Note that VS Code is NOT the same as Visual Studio, which is a full-featured IDE that is (in my opinion) overkill for most web development workflows.
Download and install Visual Studio Code..
If you have a different editor preference (e.g. Sublime), you are welcome to use it. However, I cannot promise that I will be able to provide support for other editors. Additionally, the assignments use a few VSCode extensions that will make your lives easier, e.g. Live Server for serving your website files.
Once you have installed VSCode, sign in with your Github account.
Now, install the following three extensions from the extension marketplace:
Finally, do a bit of customization! I hope all of you will become die-hard fans
of a particular editor color scheme. There are many VS Code themes available.
For fun, peruse a few (you can do this by clicking the "filter" button and
choosing Category > Themes) and install one, such as:
- Dracula - my long-time favorite
- Monokai Pro - a nice-looking option
- Solarized Dark - built into VS Code, used to be my previous go-to
- Nord - Too low-contrast for me, but I use it for other applications
- Gruvbox - A fun retro feel
There are many, many extensions out there, and you are free to explore them at your leisure. However, don't go overboard! I've previously run into issues where I don't remember (or use) extensions I've installed, which can lead to unexpected behavior and longer VS Code load times. I recommend just installing the few I have mentioned to start. Add only one at a time, only add ones you need, and uninstall any you do not use. If you're interested, I have compiled a (perhaps outdated) list of the extensions I use here.
Once you have done these things, follow the instructions for mp0 to start building your portfolio website!