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In this tutorial, we’re diving into the installation process of Visual Studio Code (VS Code), a versatile and powerful code editor used by many artists and programmers alike. The process is straightforward and user-friendly, accommodating various operating systems like Mac, Linux, and Windows. Let’s go through each step in detail.

Instructions

Step 1: Downloading Visual Studio Code

  1. Visit the Website: Start by navigating to code.visualstudio.com external link .
  2. Automatic Detection: The website typically detects your operating system (OS) automatically. It then suggests the appropriate version of Visual Studio Code for your OS, whether it’s Mac, Linux, or Windows.
  3. Manual Selection: If automatic detection doesn’t work, click on “Other Platforms”. This allows you to manually select your OS - Windows, Linux, or Mac - and download the corresponding version.

Step 2: Installing Visual Studio Code

  1. Open the Downloaded File:
    • Windows: Open the downloaded executable file (.exe).
    • Mac: Open the disk image and move Code to Applications.
    • Linux: Follow the specific installation instructions for your Linux distribution.
  2. Follow the Installation Prompts: The installation wizard will guide you through the process as needed on Windows.

Step 3: Exploring Visual Studio Code

  1. Opening VS Code: Once installed, open Visual Studio Code. You’ll be greeted with a welcome screen.
  2. Familiarize Yourself with the Interface:
    • Open a Folder: To work on existing code.
    • Create a New File: To start a new project.
    • Clone a GitHub Repository: Useful for version controlling your files and collaborating.
  3. Key Areas in VS Code:
    • Explore: Browse your files.
    • Search: Find specific pieces of code.
    • Source Control: Manage version control, typically with Git.
    • Run and Debug: Test and debug your code.
    • Extensions: Enhance VS Code’s functionality.

Step 4: Setting Up Git for Version Control

  1. Check Git Installation: In the Source Control section, VS Code might indicate that Git isn’t installed.
  2. Install Git: Follow the installation guide for your OS. Setup VSC and git
  3. Git Integration: Once Git is installed, you can utilize VS Code’s integrated source control features for your coding projects.

Conclusion and Further Assistance

Visual Studio Code is now set up and ready to be your coding companion. Remember, setting up your environment correctly is crucial for a smooth and efficient coding experience, especially in the realm of artistic programming where creativity meets technology. Happy coding!

Install Visual Studio Code Video Transcript

In this programming for artist tutorial, I’m going to quickly go over how to install Visual Studio Code. If we navigate to the code.visualstudio.com website, we will have an option to download Visual Studio Code. Most likely it will detect your computer version whether you’re using Mac, Linux, or Windows. If for some reason it doesn’t do that you can always click other platforms. Once you do this, select the particular platform that you have whether it be Windows, Linux, or Mac and then download that version of Visual Studio Code.

Once Visual Studio Code is downloaded, then open up the zip file and execute the executable, or the disk image to Applications if you’re using a Mac, or install it on Linux. Once it’s installed go ahead and open up Visual Studio Code.

This is the welcome screen for Visual Studio Code. We can open a folder if we already have some code. We can create a new file but what we most likely want to do is either clone a GitHub repository start a GitHub repository or use git in some way to actually version control our files. If we look over here on the left we have Explore, Search, Source Control, Run and Debug, and Extensions. If we go ahead and click on Source Control most likely it will say that you don’t have git installed. There are many ways to install git. I have instructions down below. Once you install git then we’ll be ready to use this as our development environment for coding. If you have any questions on how to install git whether you’re on Windows or Mac please see links in the description.

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