Notes

Terminal Basics

The terminal is a text based system that allows you, as a user, to control your computer and do everything from creating new files and folders to starting up entire applications.

• Mac & Linux use The Terminal
• Windows uses The Command Prompt

Descriptions of Programs we Installed

• VSCODE : a free source-code editor made by Microsoft for Windows, Linux and macOS.
• Node : an open-source, cross-platform, JavaScript runtime environment that executes JavaScript code outside a web browser.
• NPM : a package manager for the JavaScript programming language.
• Mocha : a JavaScript test framework for Node.js programs.
• Xcode Command Line Tools : The Command Line Tool package gives Mac terminal users many commonly used tools, utilities, and compilers
• Homebrew : a free and open-source software package management system that simplifies the installation of software.
• Python 3 : an interpreted, high-level, general-purpose programming language.

File Tree

• Directory : Same as a folder on your computer; a directory can contain many files or subdirectories (folders within themselves)
• Root : The outermost main directory of our computer represented by /
• Path : Location on your computer specified by directories. /Desktop/photos/cats.pdf is an example of a path.
• CLI : The Command Line Interface is the text-based user interface used to view and manage computer files.
  • Predates the GUI, and many coding specific programs can only be run from the CL (such as Node)!
• GUI : The Graphic User Interface is the visual alternative of the CLI, it is what we have been using to navigate our computers so far.

Basic Terminal Navigation

Unix refers to the parent operating system upon which Mac is built on and Linux is inspired by.

• They have nearly identical commands and features.
• The terminal dafaults into ~ (tilde) which denotes your home directory.

Navigation Commands

• ls : lists all files and subdirectories in the current directory.
• cd [path] : changes the current directory to the directory specified by the path argument.
• pwd : The present working directory command lists the path from your current location starting from root.
• clear : Clears your terminal.

Directory Shortcuts

• You can use cd .. or cd by itself to quickly naviagte to your previous directory.
• If you hit tab you can auto-complete your submission in the terminal (if there are multiple matches your terminal will list them out for you to choose.)
• You can drag and drop folders from the GUI into the terminal to auto-populate the full path!

Using Node JS

Javascript is the language of the internet!

• The two main environments we use to run Javascript are: Google Chrome & Node.
• Node is a very powerful runtime environment built on Google Chrome’s Javascript V8 Engine.
• Runtime Environment : A runtime system that is used to implement portions of an execution model.

Node REPL vs. Javascript File

• There are two ways to run Javascript using Node:
  • Using the Node REPL
    • Used for testing quick ideas.
    • Useful when playing around with curiosities because the expression is evaluated very quickly.
    • Any code you enter into the REPL will be deleted upon exiting.
  • Using Node to run a .js file
    • Used for saving files for the long term.

Using the Node REPL

To enter the Node REPL simply type node into your terminal, you will be greeted with a > character - here you can type any JS code, and even define functions! (Just keep in mind these will not be saved)

• To exit node, type . exit or ctrl + c.

Using Javascript Files

• Create a folder via Terminal by using mkdir <folder name>.
• Create a JS file via Terminal by using touch <file name.js>.
• To run a JS file via Terminal type node <file name>.

Navigating in VSCode

VCSode is an IDE (Interactive Developer Environment).

Please keep in mind that keeping an organized file system will save you a lot of trouble in the future!

VSCode Shortcuts

• Shortcuts for MacOS
• Shortcuts for Windows