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Tools and Set up
In web development, there are several different tools working in tandem to make things run. The pieces can seem overwhelming at first, but let's take it step by step.
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Text Editor. If you don't have a text editor already, download Sublime OR TextWrangler, OR a text editor of your choice. I'll be using Sublime in class.
IMPORTANT: do NOT use a program like Microsoft Word, TextEdit, or Google Docs. These are word-processing programs, and won't work for code. Do NOT use Dreamweaver or similar programs to write code.
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Terminal. Built-in on Mac OSX. If you are using Windows, see me for help.
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FTP Client. Download Cyberduck.
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Web Browser with Development Tools. If you don't have it already, download Chrome. Most modern browsers have development tools built-in; they all do essentially the same thing, but they each work slightly differently. I'll be using the Chrome dev tools in class, so you may find it easiest to follow along if you also use Chrome. You are free to use Firefox or Safari or the browser of your choice, as long as you are able to use the development tools in those apps.
- GitHub. Even if you already have a github account, make sure you sign up for the GitHub Student Developer Pack, which you can link to your existing account if you like.
- Digital Ocean. The Git Student Developer Pack gives you a $100 credit at Digital Ocean, which is where we'll host our servers. Even if your education pack hasn't been approved yet (it may take a day or two), you can still sign up for Digital Ocean and they'll retroactively apply the discount. Start the process of getting your server set up there using the Digital Ocean Set-up walk-through.
Often in web development, you'll build something and test it by running it on your computer without putting it out on the internet at all. In this case, your computer is acting as a small-scale server. That's referred to as running something locally. Because a server is essentially just a program, they can live any number of places, including on your laptop where you're the only one who can access it. Of course, we're going to pretty quickly want to start putting things out to the outside world, aka TEH INTERNETZ, more formally known as a remote server.
It's common that your workflow will consist of testing and running locally (on your computer), and then uploading and deploying remotely (to your Digital Ocean account).
We get into the nuts and bolts of how this happens soon.