To ensure we make the most of our time together, we will need you to install a couple things before the workshop begins:

• VSCode
• Node.js
• Git
• GitHub

If you have any issues installing these, feel free to reach out to a pod leader, ask in the workshop-questions Discord channel, or contact me at [email protected].

The only IDE you'll ever need

VS Code is the most popular IDE out there for software development, and it's completely free! You can install different extensions to customize VS Code as you wish, and code in any language you like! You can download it at:

https://code.visualstudio.com

Javascript's runtime environment

Node.js is a way for your computer to interpret and run the Javascript code we'll be writing. It also comes with the Node Package Manager (npm), which will allow you to import libraries such as React, Express, etc. You can download it at:

https://nodejs.org/en/download/

Save and share your code

Git is a "Version Control System" that allows you to do many things such as save your code, create different versions of your code in "branches," or revert to an older version of your code. It is incredibly useful for collaboration between developers, and allows us to save our current progress in the event of a costly mistake later on.

With over 73 million developers in 2021, GitHub is the most popular way to share and collaborate on coding projects. You will need Git and GitHub in CS 3251 and onwards.

Instructions to download Git are found here: https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git

Signing up for GitHub is simple, and can be done here: https://github.com/signup

And that's it! We look forward to seeing you at our first workshop, Tuesday 6-7:30 in the Jacobs Auditorium!

- The VandyHacks Content Team