Introduction

This document provides a quick listing of the tools needed and basic install instructions for each -- which is used throughout this course. Before you get started installing all the tools and software for this course, there are a few basic requirements. After that, I provide the general instructions for each tool used. Since this page is designed to aide the "get to the point" crowd, I keep my instructions as brief as possible.

In order to support the most recent version of Windows available, these instructions were tested using Windows 10. However, with some modification, these instructions will generally work for older versions of Windows.

Getting Started and Common Tools

Admin Rights

You need to have Administrator rights to your system. Most modern versions of Windows come with several "flavors" of user accounts -- only Administrators can install software.

The Right Bits

Windows comes in two flavors: 32-bit and 64-bit. What's even more confusing -- you might have a 32-bit version on hardware able to run 64-bit software.

The fastest way to find out if you have 32 or 64-bits installed:

• Right-click on the Start Menu, this will display a pop-up menu
• Click on the System item
• Once the System window appears, look for the System Type entry under the System section. This should tell you if you have 32 or 64-bit version of Windows.

Make a note of this -- you'll want to install the 32-bit or 64-bit version of any software in order to best match your operating system and to have the best performance possible, when given the choice.

Google Chrome

Optional.

I use Google Chrome for most of my courses. A few years ago, I would have strongly recommended or border-lined required the use of Chrome. However, most modern versions of all common browsers are adequate -- although the software engineer in me still prefers Chrome. For those wanting to follow along as closely as possible, install and use Chrome during this course. However, this is an optional step now, but I include it for completeness.

Install for Windows

• Go to the Google Chrome Desktop page at https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop
• Click on the Download Chrome button
• Accept the Terms of Service agreement (after reading, of course)
• Follow the instructions through the install process

Git for Windows

Required.

Git is the source control tool used in this course. While Jenkins supports many other control control tools, Git is the most popular these days.

Install on Windows 10

• Download Git for Windows directly from https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/latest.
• Run the installer program, follow the defaults (recommend other choices in the video, but defaults are ok too)
• Open the Git Bash program, which is a Bash Shell terminal designed specifically for Git on Windows

Configure Git

Git requires your name and email address before any real work can be done. It is best to just configure Git from the start.

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@your-place.com"

Notepad++

Optional.

Windows comes with a text editor called Notepad, but it doesn't do much beyond allow you to edit text and many IT professionals prefer something more. I use a free and open-source program called Notepad++ for most of my Windows based courses. If you are happy with Notepad, then this step is optional.

Install

• Download Notepad++ from https://notepad-plus-plus.org/download
• Since there are many adverts on the page, ensure you select the Notepad++ Installer and not an AD by mistake.
• Once the installer has finished downloading, run the installer.
• Follow all the defaults through the install process with the following exceptions:
  • Check Create Shortcut on Desktop (personal choice)

Notepad++ System-Wide

If you plan to use Notepad++ a lot, I highly recommend adding Notepad++ to your system's PATH environment variable. You can confirm weather or not this is needed by opening a command prompt or Git Bash and type notepad++ and press the enter key. If Notepad++ launches, then no additional work is needed. If you get a Command Not Found or similar error, then add the Notepad++ install folder to the system Path variable.

Bash Configuration

Open or create the ~/.bash_profile file and add the following line:

alias npp='notepad++ -multiInst -nosession'

Git Integration

Open Git Bash and issue the command:

git config core.editor "notepad++ -multiInst -nosession"

Then test it out by:

git config --global -e

P4Merge on Windows

P4Merge for Windows which is a visual comparsion and merge resolution tool that integrates well with Git.

Install

• Download P4Merge: Visual Merge Client from https://www.perforce.com/downloads/helix#clients
• Once the installer has finished downloading, run the installer.
• Follow all the defaults through the install process with the following exceptions:
  • During install, take care to only install the P4Merge Visual Merge client

Configuration

Now, let's integrate P4Merge with Git. You'll need to know where P4Merge is installed on your system -- which is normally under Program Files. With the next series of commands, you may need to modify them slightly to fit your system.

Configure P4Merge as Diff Tool in Git:

git config --global diff.tool p4merge
git config --global difftool.p4merge.path "C:/Program Files/Perforce/p4merge.exe"
git config --global difftool.prompt false

Configure P4Merge as Merge Tool in Git:

git config --global merge.tool p4merge
git config --global mergetool.p4merge.path "C:/Program Files/Perforce/p4merge.exe"
git config --global mergetool.prompt false

The above commands should work, but some systems may require converting the paths to Unix friendly versions where C: is replaced with /c/.