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  • If you're here, you're about to start

  • the Working with Data and APIs course on the coding train.

  • So what I want to do in this video is pretty simple.

  • I just want to give you a quick list of all the things you

  • either need to know before you start the course

  • and what kind of tools and software and things

  • you need to have running on a computer

  • in order to be able follow along in the tutorials.

  • So probably the most important thing

  • is just JavaScript, the programming language itself.

  • So if you're a total new programmer, if you never

  • programmed before, maybe you want

  • to check out my intro series about learning

  • to code with JavaScript using the P5 JS library.

  • Also it would be really helpful if you understood

  • the basics of HTML, how to write an HTML web

  • page, what the Dom is, what Dom elements are on the page.

  • So if that's new to you, once again,

  • I offer you some resources in this video's description.

  • Knowing a little bit about CSS or cascading style sheets

  • could also be useful, but definitely not required.

  • And that really covers all of the things

  • that you need to know before you get started.

  • So now let me move on to what do you

  • need to have operationally on your computer

  • to follow the tutorials.

  • So first, thing you need is a code editor.

  • In the videos, I'm using Visual Studio Code.

  • It's a pretty popular code editor that a lot of people

  • use now, but there's no reason you need to use it.

  • You could use a number of any other text editor

  • that you could find on your computer,

  • Atom is one, Brackets, Sublime, there's somebody text editors.

  • Everybody has their favorite.

  • You also don't need to use a text editor locally

  • on your computer.

  • You could use, at least for module 1,

  • you could use an online code editor, Code Pen, JS Fiddle,

  • the P5 web editor, any of these would work.

  • But if you want to follow on exactly what I'm doing,

  • Visual Studio Code is the editor that I'm using.

  • Because I'm using a local text editor,

  • in order for the examples I'm writing to work,

  • I also need to run a web server, and a lot

  • of the text editors like Visual Studio Code, for example,

  • have extensions that will run a web server for you.

  • You can run a web server by typing in some commands

  • into your terminal access to your computer.

  • And so actually if this is new to you,

  • I might refer you to my workflow series

  • where I cover how to download a text editor,

  • how to get shell access, terminal

  • access to your computer, how to launch a web server, all

  • of that sort of stuff.

  • But things really change when I get

  • into modules 2 and 3 of this series,

  • because there I start using something called Node dot JS,

  • so you absolutely will want to have

  • shell access to your computer.

  • You'll notice I'm using an application called iTerm, which

  • is a Mac terminal application.

  • You can use just the default Mac terminal application.

  • If you're on Windows, the command prompt.

  • Power Shell, Get Bash, if you're on Linux.

  • I assume you know what you're doing in terms of shell access.

  • So that's what you can use, because you're

  • going to want to download and install

  • Node and run node commands from terminal itself.

  • You don't actually need to do this right now,

  • because when I get in to module 2,

  • I'll explain to you what Node is and how to install it,

  • but if you want to be up and running

  • and ready for that go ahead and install that now.

  • At the very end of this course, I

  • look at deploying your project to a web server in the cloud,

  • and there I make use of something

  • called Git, which is version control software, and GitHub,

  • which is a website where you can take your Git repos

  • and put them on line.

  • That may be completely unfamiliar to you.

  • I will give you a sort of basic primer on that

  • when I get to that, but that's certainly

  • will be something that you might want to check out.

  • I have a video series about GitHub

  • as well, before you get started with this course,

  • but it won't come in all the way until module 3.

  • So hopefully, I've covered everything

  • that you need to know before you get

  • started with this first video.

  • I am sure that I have forgotten something,

  • so I'd encourage you to check out the video's description,

  • because as people are watching the course,

  • they're asking questions, and I realize I'm forgetting things.

  • I will add them to the video's description.

  • So at least there there will be a list with links of everything

  • that you might need to know or have before you get started

  • with the first video.

  • So that's it.

  • This is it.

  • I'll see you in the next video.

  • Oh, I do have my train whistle.

  • Goodbye.

If you're here, you're about to start

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