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Getting Started

How the course works

We will have five Learning Units during the semester. If you're reading this, then you've already found them. * The learning units can be viewed by clicking the tabs at the top fo the page. Not all units will be available day one. As the semester progresses they will be "released" one by one. * Each unit contains all learning materials

There will be five Hands on units during the semester. One for each learning unit. Each Hands on unit is a website, which you will download from Blackboard.

  • Each Hands on unit contains project files, lab files, exercise files, demos, and links to supplementary materials.

  • As the semester progresses, we will download each Hands On Unit in compressed form (zipped file) from Blackboard when we are ready to start on that unit.

  • Using a text editor, you will be editing the project, lab, and exercise files that are already part of each Hands On Unit.

  • When you have finished all of the activities for a Hands On Unit and you are ready to submit it to your instructor for grading, you will then compress (zip) the entire Hands On unit back up and upload it to Blackboard for evaluation.

This is a lab-based course. During class, we'll have time on the computers to do hands-on labs. We'll have some lecture, we'll have some discussions, we'll work alone, we'll work with classmates, and we'll learn how to program. We will have fun!

Proper set up

We have already completed these steps as a class, but they are here for you reference.

  1. Create a folder for this class on your external hard-drive. Something like IntroToProgramming or IPJS for short. DO NOT include spaces in your folder or file names! You may use a camel case convention or underscores to separate words.

    • As programmers, it's important to learn good habits. Including spaces in folders and files names can cause problems in your code, so it's best to get into the habit of eliminating them now.
    • Open our class Blackboard site.
    • Click on Hands On Units in the left navigation menu.
    • Download unit01.zip by clicking on it.
    • Once the download is complete, move the unit01.zip folder to your IntroToProgramming folder on your external hard-drive.
    • Unzip the unit01.zip file, by right-clicking on the file.
    • Important Delete the unit01.zip file.

Opening the Learning Unit in a Browser

  • Open the unit01 folder by double-clicking on it. Inside you will see the below file structure.
  • The is the structure that creates the Learning Unit website.
  • To open the unit, double-click on the index.html file. It will open up in the browser.
  • You can also drag-and-drop the index.html file directly into the browser. Learning Unit File Structure

Notice the unit01 folder. This is where all the files live that you will be working on.

Opening the Hands On Unit in a Text Editor

You can use whatever text editor you prefer. The two recommended for this course are VS Code and Atom. I will be doing demos etc using VS Code and the pre-recorded videos use Atom.

VS Code

  • Open VS Code
  • On the top menu select File --> Open Folder
  • Navigate to your hands on unit and select the folder, external hard-drive > class folder > unit01
  • In the left pane, you should see folders for labs, exercises, and projects.
  • All the labs, exercise, and project files you will be working on are in their respective folders.

VS Code open folder

VS Code left nav