Terminology

• Programming language: a way that we write code. We'll be using Python, but other languages exist: C is used to program Linux; Java is used for Minecraft; JavaScript is used in webpages and oddly has nothing to do with Java.
• Shell: also known as the command prompt, terminal, or CLI. It's the fastest way to interface with a lot of programming tools, and we'll use a shell extensively. This will be explained in the next page (titled "The Shell" funnily enough).
• Editor: the Microsoft Word of writing code. Deals with what we call plain text i.e. text files with no formatting. We'll be using the excellent text editor Visual Studio Code.
• IDE: technically stands for Integrated Development Environment. It's a text editor on (legal) steroids. Admittedly, these days text editors have gained so much functionality that many can rival IDEs for functionality, but technically an IDE should contain more specific tools and features for programming large projects. Examples include the JetBrains suite of tools - PyCharm, WebStorm, IntelliJ, Clion, etc.

Installing everything

Python

Python is our programming language of choice. It's easy to pick up for beginners compared to certain harder languages (cough C). Everybody knows that new and shiny things are better, so we'll install the latest version of Python - 3.8 at the time of writing.

Programming languages change and get new features, hence why there are new versions. Python 3 is the latest major version of Python, and it's much better in many regards than the older (now depreciated) version, Python 2.

If you're too lazy to Google "Python download", try this link (click the big yellow "Download Python 3.8.3" button):

Download Python

In the installer, make sure that you have TICKED "Add Python 3.8 to PATH". We'll (probably) learn about the PATH in the future, but this is an important check box to tick. Tick it. Then click "Install Now".

<aside> ⚠️ I already have a version of Python installed on my computer (3.7.4). I can't be bothered installing the latest one. If you see a "Python 3.7.4" in the future on my screenshots but not on yours, don't worry.

</aside>

MAKE SURE YOU'VE TICKED "ADD PYTHON 3.8 TO PATH". IF YOU HAVEN'T, REINSTALL.

If you get a message asking you to "Disable path length limit", feel free to press it if you wish. It won't make much of a difference to anything, but it can't do much harm either.