Installing Compsci Software, Fall 2011

When installing these programs, we suggest you simply follow the default installation options.

YouTube video of Prof. Astrachan installing Java, Eclipse, Pydev, EPD, and Ambient on a Windows 7 laptop on September 7, 2010. It's hard to see the font/words, you can download the original video which is large, but shows the whole screen in close to true size. Note, this process will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

1. Download and Install Java (any version higher than 5.0 is fine)
   • For this course, Java is only being installed to support running Eclipse.
   • Download Java for Windows or Linux (you do not need to complete this step if you are using a Mac, or have previously installed Java on your system).
   • Run the installer. You can accept all defaults, but you do not need the yahoo toolbar.

2. Download and Install Eclipse (we recommend downloading the Classic 3.7 version)
• This is the program we will use to create our programs.
• Download Eclipse for your system --- make sure the bits (32 or 64) match those for your downloaded version of Java
• Eclipse is different than a typical program because it does not use an installation wizard. Instead you must unarchive it yourself; we suggest you unarchive it and move the entire resulting folder into your C:\ (Windows) or Applications (Mac) folder.
3. Download and Install Enthought's Python Distribution
   • This is the version of Python 2.7 we will use in the course
   • Download EPD (we will use the freely available Academic version, but have mirrored it here so you do not have to register)
   • Run the installer and accept all defaults (note, you should install this even if you are using a Mac which includes a different version of Python)
4. Install Pydev plug-in for Eclipse (this step is done while running Eclipse)
   • This connects Eclipse to the version of Python just installed
     • When installing Pydev, select only PyDev from the list of components available when you add its URL
     • Also, remember to select that you trust the security certificate when it appears otherwise the install will not complete properly
   • After installing this plug-in, you need to configure Eclipse to find Python by selecting the location where EPD was installed as your New interpreter
     • On Windows, by default this location is C:\Python27\python.exe
     • On Macs, by default this location is /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/7.1/bin/python2.7
   • You do not need to restart Eclipse when prompted if you plan to proceed to the next step immediately
5. Install Ambient plug-in for Eclipse (this step is done while running Eclipse)
   • This plug-in was developed by students at Duke and allows you to download and submit projects
   • Also, remember to select that you trust the security certificate when it appears otherwise the install will not complete properly
   • Restart Eclipse when prompted