Here are some steps to get you started with the course.
More on all of that below and elsewhere on this website. If you have any questions or problems please post on Ed.
All labs and projects involve C programming on the Linux OS. We use Duke’s VCM service to host containers for building, running, and debugging your programs. Pro tip: if you have trouble with your container, you can check its status or restart it through that website.
VSCode – We recommend using Visual Studio Code (VSCode). Be sure to get VSCode only from the official site controlled by Microsoft. The site also has documentation and other helpful materials. We recommend you install the VSCode Live Share extension in your container as it provides a way to share a view of your code with collaborators and/or TAs remotely.
GitLab and Git – We use the Git version control system and the CS GitLab service (coursework.cs.duke.edu) to distribute, store, and submit code for labs and projects. You must log in to access the content: select “Duke OAuth2” and log in with your NetID. The “Getting Started” guide in the course Git repository shows how to set up your account and install cryptographic keypairs to connect it to your computers and your container. Also see the tutorial from Duke OIT.
You may be able to work with C code using native tools on your own computer, e.g., mac XCode command line tools and/or Docker. However, we can’t promise it works as expected, so we recommend that you use the VCM service.