05: Setup for OSX

The installation and setup instructions were created in July 2022 and are updated whenever there's a change that makes them incorrect. If you find that these instructions are wrong then please comment on this lesson and I'll fix whatever you find. Be sure to triple check that you are actually finding something wrong and aren't simply making a mistake.

Create a Work Account

You probably have a single account on your OSX computer but I'm going to ask you to create a new "work" account. This account should be where you do all of the work for this book, and you should keep using for "work" from now on. The reason behind this move is to keep you from destroying your personal account's information. You might do something in programming that can wipe out your files, so if you have a separate account then this damage is limited to only your work account.

The other advantage to a separate work account is focus. When you have a single account for everything all of your personal internet usage causes you to lose focus. With a work account you can keep it clean and not have Twitter, Facebook, and personal email open while you work.

Required Software

You will need to download and install the following software:

• Xcode -- XCode will have most of the developer tools you need.
• NodeJS LTS -- LTS means "Long Term Support" and as of January 2021 that is version 18.12.1. These lesson should work with Node after version 14.
• VS Code -- If you are comfortable with another text editor then use that but VS Code will work if you know nothing. In the videos I use an editor called Vim.
• Chrome -- You will need to install all of the major browsers for testing and development. If you already have it installed then be sure to update it.
• Firefox -- Firefox is another browser you need to install. If you already installed then be sure to update it.
• Go into Applications and find the Terminal app. Add this to your Dock so you can access it quickly.

Confirming Your Installation

To confirm you've installed everything correctly attempt the following tasks:

• Click on the Terminal app in your Dock to start it.
• Type node --version and you should see a number like 18.12.1 or close to it.
• Type git --version and you should see something close to 2.19 but closer to 2.37.1 is preferred.
• Click on the Chrome icon in your dock and confirm Chrome works.
• Click on Firefox too and confirm it works.
• If Visual Studio Code is not on your dock then go to Applications and add it too. Start it and confirm it works too.

If you can do all of these tasks then everything should be installed and ready to use. If not then confirm you actually installed the software correctly. The video for this lesson shows how to install the software on Windows and perform all of these checks. It might have clues for your own installation.