Software Setup and Course Workspace

Software Setup

The first section of this page will walk you through installing the software you’ll need for the course.

0. Install Java

Java is the programming language we will be using for this course. Yay! Follow this link to install the Java SE Development Kit (version 22.0.1.1).

Select the tab according to the operating system you are running.

If you are on an M-Series Mac, you will want to download the ARM 64 DMG Installer. If you have an older Mac, you’ll download the x64 DMG Installer.

Windows users should download the x64 Installer.

1. Install IntelliJ

IntelliJ is the IDE we will be using. Follow this link to install the community version of IntelliJ according to the operating system you are running.

If you are on an M-Series Mac, you will want to select the drop down menu and choose the Apple Silicon DMG. Otherwise, you will download the Intel DMG.

Remember to download the community version!! You will have to scroll down a bit to see this!

2. Install Git

Git is the Version Control System (VCS) we will be using. Follow this link. You will need at least version 2.14.1.

If you are on a Mac, open a new terminal window and check the version by running the command git --version. If you don’t have it already, it will prompt you to install it – just follow the directions. If you need to update Git, I recommend using the latest version of the binary installer which can be found at the link above. You may be prompted with a message that the download “cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer”. You’ll want to allow this, and may need to open System Preferences and navigate to “Security and Privacy” to enable the download to complete.

Windows users should use the 64 bit standalone installer, found at the link above.

3. Register for course services.

We will be using a few services to facilitate learning this summer. They are all linked to on the course homepage, please register!

4. Reboot your machine!

Reboot your computer now. Some settings of the applications you just installed will not take effect until you reboot. Once you’ve completed this, you’ve got the necessary software installed! Great work!

Course Workspace

Now that we have the required software set up, we can get the course workspace, or repository, set up.

0. Find Your Official UNC E-mail Address and Register for Github

  1. Find your primary e-mail address by logging into Sakai, clicking on your name in the top right corner, selecting Profile, and looking under the Email field. Primary e-mail addresses do not end in @ad.unc.edu. They typically end in @live.unc.edu or @email.unc.edu!

  2. Use this email to register for GitHub. GitHub is for backing up your course Workspace Repository and for downloading course materials.

You can think of GitHub as a social network where people and organizations share and collaborate on code with one another. Organizations like NASA, NOAA, Peace Corps, Washington Post, New York Times, and so on, host projects publicly (and privately) on GitHub. It’s a valuable service for data scientists, software engineers, research teams, and more.

Your coursework will have its own private “git repository”. The technology we use for backing up versions of our projects and transmitting them to or from the internet, hosted on GitHub, is called git. IntelliJ has git support built into it.

1. Open your workspace in IntelliJ.

  1. Open IntelliJ and select “Get from VCS” (also accessible through File –> New –> Project from Version Control).
  2. Copy the following URL: https://github.com/comp210-ss1-24/summer210-workspace.git

You may be prompted to trust the project. Select “Trust Project.”

  1. You should now see a data, exercises, and lessons folder open up in your summer210-workspace.

2. Select Correct SDK

  1. Open File –> Project Structure. You should ensure the Java 22 SDK is selected. Hit apply and then ok.

3. Configure GitHub Credentials

  1. Depending on your OS, open File –> Settings –> Version Control –> GitHub (Windows) or IntelliJ Idea –> Settings –> Version Control –> GitHub (macOS).
  2. Select “Add Account” and then “Log in with Token”.
  3. This will present a pop up window, where you should select “Generate”. This will take you to your GitHub developer settings with presets about a Personal Access Token to be generated for IntelliJ integration with GitHub. You can change the expiration date, but nothing else. Scroll to the bottom and hit “Generate token”.
  4. You should now be presented with your personal access token! Copy the token (or click the clipboard icon), then navigate back to IntelliJ and paste it into the “Token” box. Click “Add Account.” Hit “Apply” and “Ok”.

4. Setup your backup workspace on GitHub.

  1. In a web browser, navigate to https://classroom.github.com/a/FOpLXah-
  2. Join the Classroom by selecting your ONYEN (Clicking “Skip to the next step” is also OK)
  3. Click “Accept this Assignment”
  4. When the workspace is getting set up you may need to refresh until it tells you you’re ready to go!
  5. Click the link to your personal backup repository that looks something like this https://github.com/summer-210/comp210-workspace-kakiryan (except instead of kakiryan you will see your GitHub username).
  6. Toward the top of the page there is a green “Code button”, click this, and you will see two buttons: HTTPS and SSH. Click HTTPS and copy the text of the URL in the box to the right of the buttons (or click the clipboard icon)
  7. With your workspace open in IntelliJ, select the Git menu along the top of the screen and select manage remotes. Hit the plus icon to begin adding a remote. Name the remote “backup” and paste the URL of the repository in the URL box. Hit ok. You should now see two remotes, origin and backup.