Setting up your environment for computer programming.

 

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Introduction

A computer becomes a development workstation (being able to develop software) only when the necessary setup is done. This will include installing text editors, IDEs (Integrated Development Environment), compilers or interpreters which comes with the specific computer programming language being installed, and installing other third-party software which serves as dependencies for your projects. For example, a hacker or penetration tester has already installed all the required software that would be needed to perform the processes needed for penetration. Some of these activities includes scanning a network to find the number of users on it, password cracking, exploiting a host on a network and so on. A fresh user who wants to be able to perform all these hacking functionalities would need to set up his or her computer to be able to do the same. Hence, as a software engineer, you would need to set up your computer to become a development workstation for developing your amazing software.

You need to learn a programming language

Computer programming is the process of using a computer programming language to instruct a CPU as to what it should do. For an example, you can use Python, C++, JavaScript or Rust computer programming language to give a command. You can use a computer programming language to instruct the CPU to print something unto the screen.

To be able to code on your computer you should have probably had knowledge of the commands you can give to the CPU to execute. Fortunately, you can learn most of the computer programming language on this platform. After learning the syntax of a computer programming language, you would need to install the interpreter or compiler of the programming language.

Install an interpreter or compiler

After learning a particular programming language, now it is time to install it interpreter or compiler as needed or required by the computer programming language. Some programming languages like C++ and Rust would require a compiler to convert your commands or syntax into machine codes so that your computer's CPU can execute the commands you gave. Other programming languages like JavaScript, Python and PHP would require you to install their interpreters before they can execute the commands given to it. These compilers and interpreters come with the programming languages as you download them.

Some list of programming languages to download

Install an IDE

Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a software every software developer must have installed on their computers. An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that helps programmers develop software code efficiently. It increases developer productivity by combining capabilities such as software editing, building, testing, and packaging in an easy-to-use application.

Importance of IDE

An integrated development environment helps a computer programmer in soo many ways including; suggesting suitable keywords or syntax, auto-completion of codes or syntax, helps coders to easily debug errors in their codes, assigns different colors to keywords which can help the developer to easily read and understand the lines of codes they are written.

Which IDE is best

IDEs are available on the internet, and most of them support diverse computer programming languages, it mostly depends on the developers' preferences. Personally, I use notpad++ a lot, that is the IDE I prefer using. But other developers prefer visual studio, atom, and adobe amongst others.
But there are cases whereby some IDEs provide greater support for a particular purpose. It is good to explore.

Kinds of IDEs

IDEs varieties come from it specialty and the computer programming language it supports. Others provide support to general programming language.

Multi-language IDE

This kind of IDE supports multiple programming languages making it suitable for programmers who work with several different programming languages including; Python, JavaScript, PHP, C++, Java and so on. Some of the most popular multi-language IDEs in tech include Visual Studio, Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and PyCharm.

Mobile development IDE

This kind of IDE is the best for software engineers who are interested in developing mobile applications. Mobile development IDEs for the Android and iOS platforms include Android Studio and Xcode.

Web-based IDE

A Web-based IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is a type of software application that provides an integrated set of tools for software development. It is accessed via a web browser, allowing developers to write and test code from any computer with an internet connection. Web-based IDEs typically provide an editor for writing code, a debugger for testing and debugging code, and an integrated development environment for managing the development process. example; Cloud92, Codenvy, and Codeany.

Specific-language IDE

This IDE type is a typical opposite of the multiple-language IDE. A specific-language IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is a software application that provides a comprehensive set of tools for programming in a particular language. Examples of specific-language IDEs include Visual Studio for C#, Eclipse for Java, and Xcode for Swift.

Install a web browser

A web browser is a software application used to locate, retrieve and display content on the World Wide Web, including web pages, images, videos and other files. It is the application used to access websites, send and receive emails, and view documents online. Common web browsers include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari.

A web browser has a built-in interpreter that can interpret HTML, CSS and JavaScript codes, it is because of this ability web browsers are able to render websites and other HTTPS related technologies.

For web developer, it is even good to have more than one web browsers installed on your laptop or PCs.

Conclusion

Having all these requirements satisfied you can resume exploring the syntax you know in the IDE and start writing your first program. IDEs have a lot of features to use, and with time you will get better at it.

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