| Computing Setup |
- Send a Greetings post to the Service Desk for this course
Description: You can earn 10 participation points by sending a Greetings post to the Service Desk
for this
course within the first 2 weeks of the semester. Regardless of the points earned,
getting started using
the Service Desk is a best practice.
- Install Anaconda
Description: Anaconda is an open data science platform that provides access to a coordinated set
of
Python tools. We will be using Anaconda to provide our basic Python tools. This
will relieve
some of the pressure of downloading many Python tools individually. It will also
give us some
experience in working with Anaconda, which is a valuable skill in its own right.
PLEASE NOTE:
The version of Anaconda that you download should be the latest version available.
That should
be the version that supports Python 3.9.
- Install PyCharm Professional
Description: PyCharm Professional is a leading Python Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
I will be using PyCharm in my tutorial videos and I will expect you to use PyCharm
when
completing your assignments.
JetBrains, the makers of PyCharm Professional, offer free licenses to this and a number
of other
products to university students and faculty. You will need to secure one of these
free
licenses from JetBrains using the link below. Following that, you will need to install
PyCharm Professional by following one of the tutorial videos below that will help
you through
the download and install.
- Learn About Git
Description:
This is a video course that introduces Git version control to Git beginners.
I have included this link here in case you are a beginner.
The extent to which you use the Git version control system in this course will
depend on your level of interest. You will be required to use Git in
the Deployment assignment for the EZ University
tutorial. This assignment occurs near the end of the course. Many of you will want
to
use Git to do the optional deployment portion of the Django Girls tutorial. This
is the
very first assignment in the course. Once you learn how to use Git, I predict that
you
will want to use it on all of your coding projects. So,
I recommend that you get started early with Git. But, the decision is up to you.
- Install a Graphical Git Client
Description:
Natively, Git is a command line tool. Many people use Git at the command line very
comfortably. Yet, many of us like graphical tools. If that includes you, then you
will want to pick a graphical Git client and install that for your use. PyCharm
includes a graphical Git client. It is not my favorite. But, I use it when I must.
There
are quite a few other stand-alone graphical git clients. I have included links below
for some
stand-alone Git graphical clients that you may want to consider.
- Sign Up for an Account With a Remote Repository Service Provider
Description:
When using Git, you will need to set up an account with a remote repository service
provider.
This allows you to share your code with others and it allows you to use Git to deploy
code
on any server. We will be using Git for the deploy use case. So, you will need to
set up
an account on one of these services. The most popular of these service providers
is GitHub.
Any of the providers have free account options and any of them
will work for the deploy use case that will be important in our course. You may choose
whichever
of these you wish.
- Sign Up for a PythonAnywhere Account
Description: In our couse, we will be using PythonAnywhere accounts to deploy Django
apps on a free server. If you choose to do the optional deployment part of
of first assignment (Django Girls Tutorial), then you will need a PythonAnywhere
account for that assignment. Otherwise, you will need a PythonAnywhere account
for the EZ University Deployment assignment. This will occur near the end of the
course. I have included a link below that you may use to sign up for your
free PythonAnywhere account. If possible, use your Illinois user-id as your user-id
for PythonAnywhere.
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