Pre-course setup for Mac users
There are a few things you'll need to get set up before our first class, so that you have everything you need to get the most out of the Advanced Python Course. Chances are you'll have most of these things done already, from the Code First Girls Beginners Course.
If you have any trouble with these tasks, please make sure you contact an instructor as soon as possible, so they can help. You'll find their email address in your welcome/acceptance email from Code First Girls.
Things we need to do (we'll explain each of them in these notes):
- Check Python is installed
- Install pip
- Install a text editor
- Make sure you've got a GitHub account
- Check whether you've got git installed
Install Python
Python comes pre-installed on Macs.
- You can check what version you've got by opening Terminal and typing
python --versionand then hitting enter. Note the space and two dashes in that command.
You can find Terminal in your Utilities folder, which is in your Applications folder.
After you hit enter, you should see Python's version number printed in Terminal. As long as you have 3.x installed (i.e. any version 3), you're fine. If you have 2.x, then please let your instructor know.
To save time, you should add Terminal to your dock, by clicking the Terminal icon in the Utilities folder, and dragging the item to your dock (you can read about your dock here)
Install pip
pip is a package management system for installing and managing software packages (libraries) written in Python. We'll be using it to install things like Flask and any other libraries we want to make use of during this course.
A library is a collection of pre-written code we want to re-use. As an example, we don't want to re-invent or re-write a web server from scratch for each of our web projects, so instead we use a library to provide us with the functionality we want. Don't worry about what Flask is. We'll tell you all about it during the course.
To install pip, you need to type sudoeasy\_install pip in Terminal and hit enter. Because you're using sudo, you'll be asked for your password (the password you use to log into your computer and to install new programs). When you're entering your password in Terminal, you won't see yourself typing, so simply type your password, hit enter, and wait for the installation to complete (it might take a minute or so to start after you hit enter).
Install a text editor
You should already have either Atom or Sublime installed on your laptop, from the beginners course.
If you don't, head here to get Atom and here for Sublime.
To save time later on, you should add your text editor to your dock.
Make sure you've got a GitHub account
You should have a GitHub account already, from the beginners course. If you don't have one yet, sign up for a free one here.
Check whether you need to install git
git is the version control system you used on the beginners course. It should already be installed on your laptop, but we'll check just in case.
- Check that you've got git installed by opening Terminal and typing
git --version. You should then see a response that tells you what version you have. If you see this, you don't have to do anything else. - Only if you get an error should you follow the steps for Git for Mac Installer here. Choose the latest version from the SourceForge page the link takes you do (which is above the table full of download options on the SourceForge page). When you're asked for your username and email as part of the setup process, use the login details for your GitHub account.