The Coder’s Computer
Assignment
Go through resources below and create a page in reading-notes that summarizes what you learned as though you were presenting the material to a non-technical friend interested in learning about it.
Readings
Choosing a Text Editor
The Command Line
Basic Navigation
About Files
Notes
Choosing a Text Editor
Summary
In order to write coding in a clean, clear, concise, efficient, and easily auditable manner, you need to use a good text editor. This text editor should have the ability to suggest endings to your code snippets (code completition)** as you type to improve speed and reduce redundant typing. It should also **highlight each element within a block of code (_syntax highlighting) so that you can quickly distinguish what is text, comments, variables, functions, etc. Furthermore, the text editor should be customizable through the use of extensions and a variety of themes. This allows you to make the editor more comfortable for you use and speed up your ability to deliver flawless code.
Notes
- What is a text editor?
- A text editor is software that allows you to write and manage text
- Characteristics of a “good” text editor
- Code Completion
- Allows you to start typing and offers suggestions based on what you typed
- Automatically enters closing
(), [], or appropriate ending </>
- Syntax Highlighting
- Colorizes text based on its function
- This allows you to quickly distinguish different elements of a code block
- Variety of Color Themes
- You stare at your computer all day; make sure that the screen is comfortable for you eyes
- Light vs. Dark mode, color variations, etc.
- Availability of Extensions
- Extensions are “plug-ins” for text editors that allow you to have functionality that you otherwise would not
- These include functions like bracket highlighting and ability to live share code, along with hundreds of other functions depending on the specific text editor
- What is an IDE?
- Integrated Development Environment
- A suite of software that includes a text editor, file manager, compiler, and debugger all in one package
- Basically, it’s a software package that includes everything you need to write code with enhanced functionality
Using the Terminal
The Command Line
- What is the command line (a.k.a. the terminal)?
- A text based method of interacting with your computer
- Instead of using the Graphical User Interface (GUI), i.e. icons and the mouse, to execute programs, you type text commands into the terminal window
- What do I type in the command line?
- The first thing you type in the command line is a command, such as
ls, which will look inside your current directory and display the files in there
- Commands can be modified with command line arguments to execute more specific commands
- These arguments, aka options, follow the command and are preceded by a
space; they typically start with a -
- Ex:
ls -l will look inside the current directory (ls) and then generate a long list of contents (-l)
Basic Navigation
- Where are we now?
pwd = Print Working Directory
- What’s in out current location?
ls = List the contents of a directory
- How do I change directories?
cd [directoryName] = Change Directories to directoryName
- How do I go back a level?
cd .. = Change Directories back to parent directory
- Paths (examples assume starting in
Documents directory)
~ = Home directory » Ex: ls /home/hfoley/Documents == ls ~Documents. = Current directory » Ex: ls ./Documents == hfoley: ls Documents.. = Parent directory » Ex: ls ../ == ls hfoley- Absolute Path
- A file or directory location in relation to the root of the file system
- Relative Path
- A file or directory location relative to where we currently are in the file system
About Files
- Everything is a file, even directories, in Linux
- A file type is defined by its 2-4 character extension (.txt, .png, .gif, .exe, .py, .js, etc.)
- Linux is case sensitive; you must enter the correct case to find your file
- To find a directory with spaces in the name use
`[directoryName] ` or [firstWord]\ [secondWord]
- Ex:
cd `Holiday Photos`or cd Holiday\ Photos