Discussion 2

Choosing a Text Editor

The text editor has to be one of the most important tools you can use as a web developer. It is a piece of software that you download and install on your computer or access online. It allows you write and manage text. Features You Should Look For:

• code completion ( this will display possible suggestions on what you already typed)
• syntax highlighting (will make text more noticeable by highlighting the text)
• a nice variety of themes (will allow you to do various things such as change color of background, series of color in your text, etc.)
• the ability to choose from a healthy selection of extensions available when you need them There area many text editors to choose from

The Difference Between Text Editor And IDE

A text editor kind of gives away what it does in the title—it edits text. It also manages text, and manages files. It also manages text, and manages files. An IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is really a suite of different software all coming together. An IDE is a text editor, a file manager, a compiler, and a debugger all in one software package.

##The Command Line and Basic Navigation A command line, or terminal, is a text based interface to the system. You are able to enter commands by typing them on the keyboard and feedback will be given to you similarly as text. The command line will present you with a prompt. After you type it will display after you complete the prompt. Most of the time you will be issuing commands. Here are some examples of commands and the navigation you can use:

• pwd
• ls
• cd
• mkdir
• touch Here is an example of how it can look: cmboe$ pwd /mnt/c/Users/cmboe cmboe$ cd Desktop Desktop$ mkdir examplefolder Desktop$ cd examplefolder examplefolder$ touch examplefile examplefolder$ ls examplefile examplefolder$ This shows that I checked where I was at in the directory of my computer,changed my directory to the desktop and created a new folder. I then changed directory into the new folder and created a file within the folder. After doing so i listed the files within the folder.

*Some things to remember pwd Print Working Directory - ie. Where are we currently. ls List the contents of a directory. cd Change Directories - ie. move to another directory. file obtain information about what type of file a file or directory is. ls -a List the contents of a directory, including hidden files. Relative path A file or directory location relative to where we currently are in the file system. Absolute path A file or directory location in relation to the root of the file system.

About Files

Everything is actually a file. Text files are files, a directory is a file, your keyboard is a file ( one the system reads from only), your monitor is a file (one that your system writes to only), etc. This one can sometimes be hard to get your head around but as you work through the sections it will start to make more sense. A file extension is normally a set of 2 - 4 characters after a full stop at the end of a file, which denotes what type of file it is. The following are common extensions:

• file.exe - an executable file, or program.
• file.txt - a plain text file.
• file.png, file.gif, file.jpg - an image.

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