This is a pilot workshop, testing out a lesson that is still under development.
The lesson authors would appreciate any feedback you can give them about the
lesson content and suggestions for how it could be further improved.
Who:
This workshop is open to all members of the NIST community, whether you
already have an account with CTCMS or not: all are welcome to come and
explore the resource with us.
You don't need to have any previous knowledge of the tools
that will be presented at the workshop.
Requirements:
Participants must have access to a computer with a Mac, Linux, or Windows
operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.).
They should have a few specific software packages installed (listed
below).
Accessibility:
We are dedicated to providing a positive and accessible learning
environment for all. Please notify the instructors in advance of the
workshop if you require any accommodations or if there is anything we
can do to make this workshop more accessible to you.
Roles:
To learn more about the roles at the workshop (who will be doing what),
refer to The Carpentries'
Workshop FAQ.
Code of Conduct
Everyone who participates in Carpentries activities is required to conform to
the
Code of Conduct. This document also outlines how to report an incident if
needed.
Collaborative Notes
We will use this collaborative document for chatting, taking notes, and sharing URLs and bits of code.
Surveys
Please be sure to complete these surveys before and after the workshop.
Google Meet is a video service that runs through your browser,
making it easy to connect from any device. It has a relatively
simple interface, which we will quickly review when the Workshop
begins. The link to join is in the collaborative notes document.
Set up your workspace
Like other Carpentries workshops,
you will be learning by "coding along" with the Instructors as we
explore the cluster.
To do this, you will need to have:
A connection to the campus network through the
VPN. We will do our best to manage the streaming video
footprint, but the success of the Workshop depends on running
commands on the CTCMS machines directly.
Google Meet in a browser window so you can see
what the Instructor is presenting.
Collaborative notes in a browser
tab or window so you can see reference materials, ask
questions, and help one another. Note that CodiMD will ask you
to log in, without an option to sign up. Whatever you enter the
first time becomes your login for the site.
A terminal window so you can see
what the Instructor is presenting.
This blog post includes detailed information on how to set up your screen to follow along during the workshop.
The lesson taught in this workshop is being piloted and the schedule
is not yet precise. The workshop will include regular breaks. Please
contact the workshop organisers if you would
like more information about the planned schedule.
Setup
Please check the "Setup" page of
the lesson site for
instructions to follow to obtain the software and data you will
need to follow the lesson:
Terminal application
SSH client
SSH keys
SSH agent
The Bash Shell
Bash is a commonly-used shell that gives you the power to do
tasks more quickly.
Click on "Next" four times (two times if you've previously
installed Git). You don't need to change anything
in the Information, location, components, and start menu screens.
From the dropdown menu select "Use the Nano editor by default" (NOTE: you will need to scroll up to find it) and click on "Next".
On the page that says "Adjusting the name of the initial branch in new repositories", ensure that
"Let Git decide" is selected. This will ensure the highest level of compatibility for our lessons.
Ensure that "Git from the command line and also from 3rd-party software" is selected and
click on "Next". (If you don't do this Git Bash will not work properly, requiring you to
remove the Git Bash installation, re-run the installer and to select the "Git from the
command line and also from 3rd-party software" option.)
Ensure that "Use the native Windows Secure Channel Library" is selected and click on "Next".
Ensure that "Checkout Windows-style, commit Unix-style line endings" is selected and click on "Next".
Ensure that "Use Windows' default console window" is selected and click on "Next".
Ensure that "Default (fast-forward or merge) is selected and click "Next"
Ensure that "Git Credential Manager Core" is selected and click on "Next".
Ensure that "Enable file system caching" is selected and click on "Next".
Click on "Install".
Click on "Finish" or "Next".
If your "HOME" environment variable is not set (or you don't know what this is):
Open command prompt (Open Start Menu then type cmd and press Enter)
Type the following line into the command prompt window exactly as shown:
setx HOME "%USERPROFILE%"
Press Enter, you should see SUCCESS: Specified value was saved.
Quit command prompt by typing exit then pressing Enter
This will provide you with both Git and Bash in the Git Bash program.
Video Tutorial
The default shell in some versions of macOS is Bash, and
Bash is available in all versions, so no need to install anything.
You access Bash from the Terminal (found in
/Applications/Utilities).
See the Git installation video tutorial
for an example on how to open the Terminal.
You may want to keep Terminal in your dock for this workshop.
To see if your default shell is Bash type echo $SHELL
in Terminal and press the Return key. If the message
printed does not end with '/bash' then your default is something
else and you can run Bash by typing bash
If you want to change your default shell, see
this Apple Support article and follow the instructions on "How to change your default shell".
Video Tutorial
The default shell is usually Bash and there is usually no need to
install anything.
To see if your default shell is Bash type echo $SHELL in
a terminal and press the Enter key. If the message printed
does not end with '/bash' then your default is something else and you
can run Bash by typing bash.
Git
Git is a version control system that lets you track who made changes
to what when and has options for easily updating a shared or public
version of your code
on github.com. You will need a
supported
web browser.
You will need an account at github.com
for parts of the Git lesson. Basic GitHub accounts are free. We encourage
you to create a GitHub account if you don't have one already.
Please consider what personal information you'd like to reveal. For
example, you may want to review these
instructions
for keeping your email address private provided at GitHub.
For macOS, install Git for Mac
by downloading and running the most recent "mavericks" installer from
this list.
Because this installer is not signed by the developer, you may have to
right click (control click) on the .pkg file, click Open, and click
Open on the pop up window.
After installing Git, there will not be anything in your /Applications folder,
as Git is a command line program.
For older versions of OS X (10.5-10.8) use the
most recent available installer labelled "snow-leopard"
available here.
Video Tutorial
If Git is not already available on your machine you can try to
install it via your distro's package manager. For Debian/Ubuntu run
sudo apt-get install git and for Fedora run
sudo dnf install git.
Text 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 default text editor on macOS and
Linux is usually set to Vim, which is not famous for being
intuitive. If you accidentally find yourself stuck in it, hit
the Esc key, followed by :+Q+!
(colon, lower-case 'q', exclamation mark), then hitting Return to
return to the shell.
nano is a basic editor and the default that instructors use in the workshop.
It is installed along with Git.
nano is a basic editor and the default that instructors use in the workshop.
See the Git installation video tutorial
for an example on how to open nano.
It should be pre-installed.
Video Tutorial
nano is a basic editor and the default that instructors use in the workshop.
It should be pre-installed.
Python
Python is a popular language for
research computing, and great for general-purpose programming as
well. Installing all of its research packages individually can be
a bit difficult, so we recommend
Anaconda,
an all-in-one installer.
Regardless of how you choose to install it,
please make sure you install Python version 3.x
(e.g., 3.6 is fine).
Download the Anaconda for Windows installer with Python 3. (If you are not sure which version to choose, you probably want the 64-bit Graphical Installer Anaconda3-...-Windows-x86_64.exe)
Install Python 3 by running the Anaconda Installer, using all of the defaults for installation except make sure to check Add Anaconda to my PATH environment variable.
Download the Anaconda Installer with Python 3 for Linux.
(The installation requires using the shell. If you aren't
comfortable doing the installation yourself
stop here and request help at the workshop.)
Open a terminal window and navigate to the directory where
the executable is downloaded (e.g., `cd ~/Downloads`).
Type
bash Anaconda3-
and then press
Tab to autocomplete the full file name. The name of
file you just downloaded should appear.
Press Enter
(or Return depending on your keyboard).
You will follow the text-only prompts.
To move through the text, press Spacebar.
Type yes and press enter to approve the license.
Press Enter (or Return)
to approve the default location
for the files.
Type yes and press
Enter (or Return)
to prepend Anaconda to your PATH
(this makes the Anaconda distribution the default Python).