Download the zip file I made with required files here:

http://rachel.likespizza.com/courses/WINTOOLS.zip

Once downloaded, Extract All to any directory.

(You can also right-click the file and go to "Extract All", or something similar in older versions of Windows.)

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Keep your extracted zip folder open. Locate the mingw folder and copy it. (You can select the copy button in the file explorer bar, or right-click the file and select the Copy icon.)

Also open up File Explorer (from the Start menu) and go to This PC then the C:\ drive. Paste the folder here. (You can also right-click in an empty space and click the Paste icon.)

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This step will allow the programs we set up to be ran from anywhere on the computer.

Click the Start Menu (the Windows icon on the bottom bar) and type in "Path". Select the "Edit the system environment variables" option.

From the "System Properties" window, click the "Environment Variables…" button at the bottom.

In the "Environment Variables" window, under the bottom list ("System variables"), locate the Variable named Path. Click it, then select "Edit…".

In the "Edit Environment Variables" window, click "New" and type in the following path: C:\mingw\bin

Click "OK" when done, and click "OK" on the rest of these windows to close them.

(Note: If you installed to a different directory than the default you will have to use that here.)

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Git is used for source control, where we can track changes to code over time, back it up to a server, and even collaborate with others.

In the unzipped WINTOOLS folder, run the Git-2.52.0-64-bit.exe file.

Go through the steps, most of the defaults are fine, just look out for the Choosing the default editor used by Git screen! Make sure to select something other than vim:

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To edit source code we need any plaintext file editor, though something intended for code has more features that make working with code easier.

I will probably be hopping between editors throughout the semester just to show that you can work from anywhere. I've included installers for three editors.

• emacs: This is my preferred editor but it has a bit of a learning curve, but I'll be happy to answer any questions about it.
• geany: A simple and lightweight code editor I like for small edits.
• vscodium: A version of VS Code with some Microsoft-related stuff ripped out of it. Has a bunch of features and can be customized, but we'll mostly just use it for code editing. I have this as an option because it's cross-platform on Win/Linux/Mac.

Feel free to install one or all of them to check out.

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Follow these steps to verify that everything got installed!

Go to the start menu and type in "Bash". Open up Git Bash.

1. In GitBash, type: notepad test.cpp and hit ENTER.

   Notepad will launch and ask if you want to create a new file. Press "Yes".

2. Copy/paste the following code:

   #include <iostream>
   using namespace std;
   
   int main()
   {
       cout << "Hello!" << endl;
       return 0;
   }
   

   

3. Save the file and close Notepad.

4. Back in GitBash, we're going to build the program with:

   g++ test.cpp -o TestProgram.exe

5. After hitting error if it doesn't show an error message then the build was successful. Run the program with:

   ./TestProgram.exe

   It should show the "Hello!" message.

   

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That should be it! If you ran into any errors, please let me know so we can get it ironed out!

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