Setting Up Your Development Environment

Introduction to Replit

Replit is an online integrated development environment (IDE) that allows you to code, run, and collaborate on projects directly in your web browser. It's a great tool for beginners and experienced developers alike, offering a quick and easy way to start coding without the need for local setup. Setting up Replit

• Go to https://replit.com/ and sign in or create a new account.

  

• Once logged in, click on the "+" button in the top right corner and select "Create New Repl".

  

• In the "Create Repl" dialog search for the appropriate Repl for the lecture, this will either be:

  • the "Node.js" template:

    

  • the "HTML, CSS, JavaScript" template:

    

• Provide a name for your repl and click "Create Repl".

  

Using Templates in Replit

Replit allows you to use templates that include all the necessary configuration options to run a complete app. Here's how you can use them:

For lesson code:

You can look at and copy code from the Replit widget. For more information, visit: https://docs.replit.com/additional-resources/embedding-repls Alternatively, you can download a zip folder and upload it to Replit (we'll cover this process later in the lecture)

For assignments:

Download the provided zip folder and upload it to Replit (we'll cover this process later in the lecture)

Setting Up a Local Environment (VS Code)

While Replit is convenient for quick coding and collaboration, setting up a local development environment gives you more control and flexibility. We'll use Visual Studio Code (VS Code) for our local setup.

Install Node.js:

• Go to the official Node.js website: https://nodejs.org/
• Download and install the appropriate version for your operating system

Install Visual Studio Code:

• Visit the official VS Code website: https://code.visualstudio.com/
• Download and install VS Code for your operating system

Set up your project:

• Open VS Code

• Create a new folder or open an existing project folder

• Open the integrated terminal in VS Code (View > Terminal or press Ctrl+ on Windows/Linux or Cmd+ on macOS)

• Initialize a new Node.js project by running the following command in the terminal: npm init -y

• Create necessary files (e.g., index.js) and start coding

Working with Files in Replit

Downloading Files and Folders from Replit

To download a single file:

• Right-click on the file in the file explorer
• Select "Download"

To download the entire project folder:

• Click on the "Files" button in the left sidebar
• In the "Files" view, click on the three-dot menu in the top right corner
• Select "Download Zip"
• This will download a ZIP file containing all the files and folders in your repl

Importing Projects from GitHub to Replit

• On the "Create Repl" page, look for the option to "Import from GitHub"

• Click on that option, and you'll be prompted to enter the GitHub repository URL

• Paste the URL of the GitHub repository you want to import. The URL should look something like: https://github.com/username/repository-name

• Replit may prompt you to choose the programming language or environment for your project. Select Node.js.

• Click the "Import from GitHub" button

• Replit will start the import process, which may take a few moments depending on the size of the repository

• Once the import is complete, Replit will redirect you to the new Repl containing your imported GitHub repository

• You can now navigate through the files and start working on your project within the Replit environment

Conclusion

In this lecture, we've covered the basics of setting up your development environment for web development. We've explored how to use Replit for quick online coding and collaboration, as well as how to set up a local environment using VS Code. We've also learned how to work with files in Replit, including downloading projects and importing from GitHub. In the next lecture, we'll dive into writing our first Node.js application and explore some basic concepts of server-side JavaScript.