Editor

When you're writing code, it's nice to have a text editor that is optimized for writing code, with features like automatic color-coding of key words.

The Bash Shell

Bash is a commonly-used shell. Using a shell gives you more power to do more tasks more quickly with your computer.

Python

Python is becoming very popular in scientific computing, and it's a great language for teaching general programming concepts due to its easy-to-read syntax. Installing all the scientific packages for Python individually can be a bit difficult, so we recommend an all in one installer. One of the best is Anaconda by Continuum Analytics.

Jupyter Notebook

The Jupyter Labs is a browser-based interface for interactive computing. Jupyter Labs has support for over 100 programming languages, including those popular in Data Science such R, Julia, Scala - and most importantly, Python. Individual notebooks are composable, executable, and sharable documents that mix text, code, data, and visualizations. Jupyter Labs comes pre-loaded in Anaconda.

SQL

SQL is a specialized programming language used with databases. SQL is a declarative langauge for describing (declaring) the data you want from the database. We use SQLite Studio for the lessons. There are often memory allocation limits built into most web browsers It is a relatively small application with a very intutitive GUI.

Duo

Setup Duo two-factor authentication so that you have access to secure and high-performance computing resources at UM.

Python

• Download and install Anaconda. Very specifically download the graphical installer for the 3.7 version
• Use all of the defaults for installation except make sure to check Make Anaconda the default Python.

Editor (OPTIONAL)

Notepad++ is a popular free code editor for Windows. (NOTE: Be aware that you must add its installation directory to your system path in order to launch it from the command line or have other tools like Git launch it for you. Please ask a TA to help you with this if you are interested.)

Bash Shell on Windows

• Windows 10 - Please go to the following website which has great instructions for installing the Bash Shell for Windows.
• Windows 8 and earlier - Please go to the following website and follow the instructions for installing Cygwin a Unix like environment that will give you access to Bash. The installation is slightly more involved. If you find yourself having trouble insalling it, we will take care of it on the first say of camp.

SQLite Studio

Download SQLite Studio to your desktop and follow the directions for installation.

Duo

Setup Duo two-factor authentication so that you have access to secure and high-performance computing resources at UM.

Python

• Download and install Anaconda. Very specifically download the graphical installer for the 3.7 version.
• Use all of the defaults for installation except make sure to check Make Anaconda the default Python.

Editor (OPTIONAL)

We recommend Sublime Text. In a pinch, you can use nano or vi, which should be pre-installed.

SQLite Studio

Download SQLite Studio to your desktop and follow the directions for installation.

Duo

Setup Duo two-factor authentication so that you have access to secure and high-performance computing resources at UM.

Bash

The default shell is usually bash, but if your machine is set up differently you can run it by opening a terminal and typing bash. There is no need to install anything.

Editor

Kate is one option for Linux users. In a pinch, you can use nano or vi, which should be pre-installed.

SQLite

sqlite3 comes pre-installed on Linux. Alternatively, you may install the Firefox SQLite browser plugin described below.

Python

We recommend the all-in-one scientific Python installer Anaconda. (Installation requires using the shell and if you aren't comfortable doing the installation yourself just download the installer and we'll help you at the boot camp.)

1. Download the installer that matches your operating system and save it in your home folder.
2. Open a terminal window.
3. Type

   bash Anaconda-

   and then press tab. The name of the file you just downloaded should appear.
4. Press enter. You will follow the text-only prompts. When there is a colon at the bottom of the screen press the down arrow to move down through the text. Type yes and press enter to approve the license. Press enter to approve the default location for the files. Type yes and press enter to prepend Anaconda to your PATH (this makes the Anaconda distribution the default Python).