First steps

You should do the following to get started with Physics 307:

  1. Follow the Setup Guide to get everything set up on your laptop
  2. Read the language comparison and decide whether you want to start out using C or Python. (Either one is fine, and you can switch later.)
  3. Find a text editor that you like to use.
    • nano: very simple and accessible text-mode editor but without many features. Available on all operating systems out of the box.
    • kate or gedit: Friendly graphical text editors available on Linux. Recommended if you are using Linux (native or Windows).
    • Sublime Text Editor: available for Linux or Mac. Installation will take about 5 minutes.
  4. Read the introduction to your chosen programming language (C or Python). When you encounter example programs, type them into your editor and run them. Then, to see that you understand what they do, change the code a bit and run them again. Note: It is best if you type the code into an editor yourself rather than copy/pasting the code from the notes. The “muscle memory” aspect of programming is a real one, and you’ll learn best and fastest if you do all the typing yourself.