CS2 Lab 0 2024, Getting Started 🎰

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Due Date: 2024/9/19
Complete this lab before Lab 1.

Need help? Remember to check out Edstem and our Website for TA help assistance.

Background 🎰

Be sure to read all background notes, as they are vital to do the assignment.

Welcome to CS2! We're so glad you've decided to join us on this journey through the Digital World.

Computer Scientists and Programmers alike manage many files on their computers, and it's important to have proper organization! Let's review the basic structures of a computer:

• A file is the smallest component. It is a container in a computer system for storing information. It can be a file of text, of code, or even images. All files have a tag at the end of their name, such as .png, .txt, .doc, etc.
• A folder is like the bucket that holds groups of files. These can contain files and even other folders. Unlike files, they do not have a tag at the end.

Directories and files are often written out in text, like so:

~/mycomputer/desktop/cs2/gettingstarted.txt

Think about what this might represent… Let's break it down. Every / character (\ on windows) represents a sub-directory (a folder!). So, we are looking at a text file called "gettingstarted" in the cs2 directory. The cs2 directory is in the desktop directory, which is on our computer drive!

This written out representation of a file's place on a computer is called a file path.

The last thing to know for this class when it comes to directories is absolute file path vs relative file paths.

Say we are editing a file called javascript.txt in a folder cs2 that contains one other file, called my_image.png.

In programming, files like to talk to each other. In this example, javascript.txt wants to know about my_image.png. We can tell javascript.txt about my_image two different ways.

In the javascript.txt file, we can put:

~/donstanford/desktop/cs2/my_image.png

or

/my_image.png

The first example is called an absolute file path, and it's the exact representation of a file from the root of my computer.

The second example is called a relative file path.

You're ready for the next part of the lab! Great job :)

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Project/Lab Description 🎰

It's time to set up your CS2 directory! Throughout this course, you'll put everything into this directory, and keep a tidy organization. 🧽

This lab will handle most of the set up you will need for the rest of the course!

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Tasks 🎰

To get started, you will need a text editor to write your code throughout the semester. A text editor lets you easily edit and create files in different programming languages.

Now we need to set up your file system for the course. Use the instructions for your particular machine.

Mac Instructions

1. Right click your desktop. Click "New Folder" from the dropdown. This should create the folder, and outline the name for editing.
2. Name the folder "CS2", click enter on your keyboard.
3. Double-click the newly created folder to open it.
4. Inside this new folder, right click anywhere and click "New Folder" from the dropdown.
5. Name this new sub-folder "Excel"

Windows Instructions

1. Minimize your windows so you can see your desktop.
2. Right click your desktop and click "New" -> "Folder"
3. Rename this newly recreated folder "CS2" (it should already be highlighted to edit, if not right click the folder). Click enter on the keyboard.
4. Double click the newly created folder to open it.
5. Inside this new folder, right click anywhere and click "New" -> "Folder" from the dropdown.
6. Name this new sub-folder "Excel".

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Hand-In 🎰

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