Recommended Setup

Hello! I know it can be difficult for new developers to get started with coding, especially since there's about a million different ways to set up your work environment. It's very overwhelming😵‍💫. Here is what I (Isaac) use when coding, and some of my recommendations...

Computer

This is controversial, but honestly you can use just about any computer. In the CS world you'll hear a lot about Mac vs Windows vs Linux, but none of that truly matters - it's just preference.

I currently use a MacBook with an M-series chip, but have used each of the 3 major operating systems on a wide variety of computers, and am here to tell you it doesn't really matter until you get more specialized. For instance, I can't run software that requires an Intel chip, like Virtual Box from Oracle. If that's a deal breaker, don't get Mac. However, if you are someone who really wants to learn how to work in a CLI, then I recommend any OS that uses a Unix base system, which is Mac or Linux. The commands you would use in either of these systems is relatively the same, and going between the two CLIs is like a breeze. You can get a terminal on a windows computer that accepts Unix commands, but if you want something closer to the OS you will need a Unix based system.

If you are going into design, I do recommend a Mac, as these systems are typically more optimized to run software like the adobe suite (according to 3rd party testing).

If you want to work more with hardware or networking, but don't want to use Linux because it can be a bit cumbersome for normal tasks, I recommend a windows computer.

Code Editor

The most popular code editor (currently) is VSCode, you can install it here. There are others, like the suite of editors from IntelliJ, and Sublime, but for web especially VSCode is the go-to.

Before VS Code was launched in 2015, Sublime and Atom were most popular among developers, but when Microsoft launched VS Code it slowly dominated the field and has been the most used ever since.

Extensions

One of the greatest features of VS Code is its library of extensions. These extensions give additional functionality and capabilities to VS Code. Here are some of my favorites (not in any particular order):

• GitHub Copilot
• React/Redux/React-Native Snippets
• Markdown All in One
• GitLens
• Prettier - Code Formatter
• Git
• Emmet
• Live Server
• NPM Support for VS Code
• Material Icon Theme
• TODO Highligh

These are just some of them, as I have gone down many rabbit holes researching fun extensions.