ICS 45C

Welcome to the ICS 45C GitHub landing page! This GitHub project will contain all of the project setup material you need for this class. This main branch will introduce the tools we will be using in this class in brief detail. To access instructions for a specific homework, use the branch drop down menu above to select the homework you wish to work on!

This class will REQUIRE the use of a GitHub account, so be sure to set one up before following the instructions below. It does not need to be linked to your UCI email.

Tools

The following are a list of tools that will be used in this course. All of these tools have been set up for use on OpenLab. Remember that we WILL NOT be able to support issues encountered if you use your personal setup, only the setup on OpenLab.

• git
• gcc
• make
• cmake
• valgrind
• gtest

GitHub

GitHub is an online storage service for the tool git. git is used for saving changes to your code and allows multiple people to make changes to the same code base and keep track of all the different changes made at once. It also allows you to make multiple versions (or branches) so that you can try out different approaches or changes without breaking what you were working on before.

On OpenLab, git will be pre-installed, so we will be setting up your basic profile and adding ssh-keys to your account! To do this, you will need to access OpenLab via ssh or putty (depending on the system you are using). This will give you access to OpenLab's terminal, where we can type commands to git. In this terminal, you will be adding your username and email by typing the following (remember that items shown as <Example> should be replaced with YOUR information):

git config --global user.name "<YourNameHere>"    # Example: "Ray Klefstad"
git config --global user.email "<YourEmailHere>"  # Example: "klefstad@uci.edu"

We will also set up an ssh key because GitHub is moving away from allowing the usage of https links. Please first take a look at this page which explains how to make an ssh key and then either follow the instructions there (NOTE: At the top of the page, it will have three tabs for operating systems. OpenLab is a Linux machine, so make sure that you select Linux and follow those instructions.) After you create your key, you will need to add it to GitHub, by following these instructions.

Once you have set up your username, email, and ssh key, you will need to clone this repository. On OpenLab, you can clone a repository by using git clone and copy-pasting the URL you got from the green Code button above. Example below:

So in this case you will have to run the command:

git clone git@github.com:RayKlefstad/ICS45c.git

This will add the folder ICS45c to your current working directory, which you can see by typing the ls command. You can now work in this folder and make changes locally, however you will not be able to submit changes yet as you also need your own private copy of the repository on GitHub.

To do this, click on the + in the top right of the page, and select New repository as shown below:

Give your repository a name such as ICS45c and make sure you set the visibility to private. Once created, you will set this repository up as a second remote so you can push your changes to it. To do this, start by copying the SSH clone link of your private repository from the green Code button just as you did for this repository. Now go back to openlab inside the folder ICS45c and run this command with the copy-pasted link:

git remote add my_repo <YourLinkHere>

Make sure that this link starts with git@ and not with https:// otherwise it will not work!

Your repository should now be set up correctly. To verify that it works, you can use the command:

git push my_repo

This will push the current content of your ICS45c folder including the text you are reading right now to your private GitHub repository. If this finishes with no errors and your private repository is no longer empty, then everything works and you can move on to Homework 0.2!

CMake

CMake is an industry standard for building C/C++ projects. CMake in this class will consist of two files which will be provided each homework: CMakePresets.json and CMakeLists.txt. CMakePresets.json describes to CMake the arguments, flags, and preferences that you want the compiler to use when building your project, as well as telling CMake where to put the files that it builds (which in this class will be the build/ folder). CMakeLists.txt describes the .cpp and .hpp files you intend to compile, where to find them, and how to package them into an executable target.

Learning about CMake is likely to be useful to you if you ever work with C/C++ code bases. For this class, we will provide simple CMakeLists.txt files with annotation to explain what each part is doing, but you will not be required to change it in any way. If you are interested in learning more about CMake, you can find more information at the official CMake tutorial.

GTest

GTest is an incredibly popular testing platform for .cpp. While there are other testing platforms this one is fairly popular in large code bases and also the one already available on OpenLab. Testing your programs before submitting them is HIGHLY recommended (and will be required in several assignments) to ensure your code behaves as you expect it to. We will cover the basics of using GTest and adding your own tests in the required homeworks, but for more detailed information take a look at their primer documentation.