1. Development tools

This chapter introduces the development environment used throughout the book and what you need to do in order to complete assignments.

Understanding the first 3 section of this chapter are critical - all assignments are turned in using git and are compiled and tested using cmake. People who plan to complete assignments on a system other than the Mesa server may find the section Compiling code on your local computer useful.

• 1.1. Git setup
  • 1.1.1. Step 1: Install Git
  • 1.1.2. Step 2: Setup your username and email address in Git
  • 1.1.3. Step 3: Setup authentication
• 1.2. Using Git
  • 1.2.1. Initialize a git repository
  • 1.2.2. Editing files
  • 1.2.3. Renaming files
  • 1.2.4. Adding and removing files
  • 1.2.5. Recovering files from the repository
• 1.3. Building software
  • 1.3.1. How to access the Mesa Server
  • 1.3.2. For the impatient: A quick summary
• 1.4. Compiling code on your local computer
  • 1.4.1. Compiling using the CISC187 Docker image
  • 1.4.2. Compiling with Visual Studio
  • 1.4.3. Compiling with Code Blocks
  • 1.4.4. Compiling with Xcode
  • 1.4.5. Compiling on Linux
  • 1.4.6. Which option should I choose?

The remaining sections in this chapter are useful at various times throughout the course, but you should not try to master them all in the first week.

If you plan to work mostly on the Mesa server or the docker image then the introduction to GNU/Linux commands and the vim text editor are highly recommended.

• 1.5. Introducing Gnu/Linux
  • 1.5.1. The command line
  • 1.5.2. Absolute vs relative paths
  • 1.5.3. Basic commands
• 1.6. Introducing the vim editor
  • 1.6.1. Modes
  • 1.6.2. Motions
  • 1.6.3. Selections
  • 1.6.4. Command & motion examples
  • 1.6.5. Creating ‘Hello World’ using vim
  • 1.6.6. Navigating to make errors

The gcc and make section is purely for reference, but does provide some insight into how software gets built and can help remove some of the ‘magic’ from the build process.

• 1.7. Command-line compiling
  • 1.7.1. The C++ compiler
  • 1.7.2. The make utility
  • 1.7.3. Running your programs

You may choose to defer reading about debugging until you actually need to use it and can treat it like a quick primer. When you are working on project 1 is a good time to read this section.

• 1.8. Debugging
  • 1.8.1. Syntax errors
  • 1.8.2. Link errors
  • 1.8.3. Runtime errors
  • 1.8.4. Semantic errors
  • 1.8.5. General debugging tips
  • 1.8.6. Debugging tools

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