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Preparation

It is important that you complete all of the following work before you get to the next class.

1) Sign Up To GitHub (30 Minutes)​

If you did not do so during Fundmentals, sign up now. We'll use GitHub to share code with each other.

  1. Sign up on https://github.com
  2. Let us know your GitHub username as we'll need it for future assignments

2) Download and Install Github Desktop (30 minutes) 🔑​

We'll be using this tool in next weeks class so it's very important that you set it up before class. You must come to class prepared.

Mac​

To install, go to the website and click Download for Mac

https://desktop.github.com/

Linux​

Installing on Linux is a little more tricky.

Follow the instructions here to install Github Desktop

https://github.com/shiftkey/desktop#debianubuntu-distributions

If you do not understand the instructions written then please ask on Slack for help. We haven't covered how to install software like this yet and you are not expected to understand how to do it.

Install Instructions​

  1. Find and Open Terminal on your Laptop
  2. Copy and paste this line into the terminal then press enter
    • wget -qO - https://packagecloud.io/shiftkey/desktop/gpgkey | sudo apt-key add -
  3. Copy and paste this line into the terminal then press enter
    • sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://packagecloud.io/shiftkey/desktop/any/ any main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/packagecloud-shiftky-desktop.list'
  4. Copy and paste this line into the terminal then press enter
    • sudo apt-get update
  5. Copy and paste this line into the terminal then press enter
    • sudo apt install github-desktop

Github Desktop should now be installed. If any step of this didn't work, please ask for help on Slack.

3) Open Github Desktop and Login (10 minutes)​

Sign in to Github Desktop with your Github account.

  1. Run Github Desktop
  2. Click "Sign in to GitHub.com"
  3. Go through the steps to sign in.

4) Git & Github for Poets (1 hour)​

This playlist will give you an introduction to Git & Github which are two tools we'll be using next week.

These videos cover concepts that you'll be learn slowly over this course as you need them. Be sure to use these videos in the future when you need them.

For now, you only need to watch the first video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCQHnlnPusY

When you're watching this videos you should:

  1. Take Notes - this will help you to stay engaged with the videos and learn more
  2. Write Down Questions - if you still have these questions after our next lesson you can ask them on Slack

After watching the video, try to follow along with it and setup your own "Repository for Poems". Doing this will help you solidify what you've learnt.

If you manage to do this, submit a link to your work.

However, if you have problems that's fine - this is only work to help you get started and we'll go over everything in more detail in class.

5) Intro to Github Desktop (10 minutes)​

When you're watching this video you should:

  1. Take Notes - this will help you to stay engaged with the videos and learn more
  2. Write Down Questions - if you still have these questions after our next lesson you can ask them on Slack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv8rSLsi1xo

6) Share a question you have on Slack (5 Minutes)​

It's really helpful for us to see the question you have right now.

First, search to see if anyone else has asked a question about Slack already. If they have, open a thread and post a question below theirs.

If you cannot find a post already, post a question with the title "Github Questions". Then other people will ask questions below yours.

7) Install VS Code (30-40 Minutes)​

We use this software to write our code. You'll be using it a lot over the next few months. If you have not done so already during Fundamentals, install this now.

https://fundamentals.codeyourfuture.io/about-this-course/before-the-course-begins#prep-2-developer-tools https://docs.codeyourfuture.io/course-processes/before-the-course/getting-setup#visual-studio-code

If this is your first time using Visual Studio code, watch this video here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S320N3sxinE

8) Create a CYF folder on your hard drive (5 mins)​

If you have not done so already, create a CYF folder on your hard drive in your home directory or top level directory.

Clone all your repos and always do all your work in this folder. Create subfolders inside the CYF directory for your modules. Don't have files all over your computer in a giant mess. Be professional from day one, and you will run into fewer problems as the course continues.