CSCI 261 - Programming Concepts - Maynooth 2022

This lab is due by Monday, June 20, 2022, 11:59 PM.
As with all labs you may, and are encouraged, to pair program a solution to this lab. If you choose to pair program a solution, be sure that you individually understand how to generate the correct solution.

VS Code Setup

First, why is this lab zero instead of lab one? Because computer scientists always start with zero! (This will become more evident later in the semester ... there's a reason why we do it!)

Before you begin working on any programming project, you must set up some kind of "workspace" on your computer. Software engineers call this "setting up your development environment". For this class, you will need only two things: a compiler and a text editor or IDE. Our compiler will be g++ and our editor will be VS Code.

You may use any of the campus lab machines or you may setup your personal machine. If you plan to primarily use the campus lab machines, then skip to Part II. Otherwise, to continue with your personal machine go to Part I.

Part I - Setup your Personal Computer (Recommended)

If you want to set up your own computer, then you will need to make sure you have a compiler installed. The compiler will depend on your operating system:

• Windows: Download and install MinGW. Unzip the file and place the contents at C:\mingw64. This video will help with the MinGW setup (note: disregard the CLion comment at the end of the video). Additionally, we will want to have the MinGW folder on your path to be able to execute programs from later. In the Windows start menu, search for Edit environment variables for your account. Select Path from the top box and hit Edit. Hit New and enter C:\mingw64\bin or potentially C:\mingw64\mingw64\bin (verify where MinGW was unzipped to). Hit OK then OK.
• Mac: Install the XCode Command Line Tools. This is a decent tutorial a to walk you through the steps. Be sure to follow the instructions for the "triggered by a command" option, not the full XCode or Homebrew setups.
• Linux: I trust you know what you're doing with your OS, but you should be good to go.

Then, regardless of OS, install VS Code. Be sure to choose the version that matches your system.

• Windows: Select the System Installer.
• Mac: If you have a newer M1 Mac, then select Apple Silicon.
• Linux: Select the appropriate format.

Regardless of OS, continue on to the next part.

Part II - Test Your Setup

We will fully test your setup soon, with Lab1A. To verify everything is setup, open VS Code. From the top menu, select Terminal > New Terminal. In the bottom window that opens, type g++ --version and hit enter. You should see a copyright notice and version information printed to the terminal. If there is a message saying g++.exe does not exist, then there was an error with setup. Verify the steps above were completed. If additional help is needed, then please use Piazza.

To complete this lab, go to Canvas > Assignments and complete the Lab0 Survey.

This lab is due by Monday, June 20, 2022, 11:59 PM.
As with all labs you may, and are encouraged, to pair program a solution to this lab. If you choose to pair program a solution, be sure that you individually understand how to generate the correct solution.