Lecture 23: Editors and version control

1. Open this web page

   • There are links and commands you’ll need

2. Start VSCode download/install

• Largely live demo and installation

  • If everything works, it will be a miracle

  • Thanks for your patience

• Showing the recommended+supported path

  • If you’re comfortable with alternatives, can use those

• May feel like a whirlwind, just skimming the surface of these tools

• Keeping the information in the slides minimal

  • There are links to more info

Note to self: can demo with virtual machine (VM): Mac in Orka Desktop and Windows in UTM.

Collaboration

What might come up if working with other people on code/notebooks?

Hosted notebooks

Jupyter can run on “on your computer (“local”), or in the cloud somewhere.”

Google Colab

• Free

• Can upload an existing notebook

• “Virtual machines are deleted when idle for a while, and have a maximum lifetime”

  • File storage is ephemeral

• Supports mounting Google Drive

• Comes with various packages pre-installed

  • Can install others

• Support sharing, like other Drive files

Integrated development environments (IDEs)

• Like Notepad/TextEdit/Notes vs. Word

  • Pros/cons?

  • Jupyter is kinda halfway

• Getting even more powerful with generative AI integrations

Visual Studio Code (VSCode)

Note to self: Switch to Computing in Context demo Profile.

Set up project

1. Go to open a folder/workspace

2. Navigate to where you want it

3. Click New Folder

4. Name it something like computing-in-context

Create Python file

1. Create test.py

2. Install Python extension, if necessary

3. Add code

   • print() something

4. Confirm it’s using Python installed via Anaconda

   • Can have multiple Pythons

5. Run script

6. Show:

   1. Syntax issue

   2. Unused import

   3. Auto import

Version control

When you’re editing a file and make a mistake, what do you do?

Changes over time (history)

Undo/redo are useful

How would you try out a change that touches multiple files?

Branching

Git

1. In sidebar, click Source Control

2. Install Git, if necessary

   • Many ways to install

   • Mac: Use Anaconda

   • Windows: Use Git for Windows

     • There are a lot of options in the installer - safe to stick to the defaults

3. Initialize repo

4. Go to Explorer

5. Open integrated terminal

   • Windows:

     1. Open Git BASH

     2. Select Default Profile to be Git BASH

6. Set global name and email in Git

   • Your name and email can be set to whatever

7. Commit

   • “There are no staged changes” -> “Always”

Command line

• Can use from within VSCode, or standalone

  • We’ll do the former, to stay in one place.

• UNIX vs. Windows

• Git BASH

Create notebook

1. Create file project_3.ipynb

2. Select kernel

   1. Click Install suggested extensions, if it asks.

   2. Click Python Environments…

   3. Select Python installed via Anaconda

3. Add a Markdown cell at the top, giving the notebook a title as a heading (level 1).

   # Project 3
   

4. Add a couple code cells, doing some simple math.

5. Commit

6. Your Source Control Graph (a.k.a. your Git history) should then look something like this:

   

Hold onto this repository; you’ll use it through the end of the course.

Will get more into some of these things in more detail in Advanced Computing for Policy