Basic Tools for Development

Download, install, update, and manage basic software tools on Windows.

Recommended Prerequisites

Operating Systems

Windows users: Installing software on Windows can be done by typing simple commands with Chocolatey, a software automation tool for Windows. You can use Option 1 below if you like. Option 2 works equally well.
Mac/Linux/All other users: Skip down to Option 2 below.

Read about Common Tools for Development

Programming Environments

Anaconda - a Python distribution for data processing

Code Editor

Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

Version Control

Git (comes with Git Bash, which provides a little bit of Linux on Windows) :)
Windows Users only: TortoiseGit (integrates Git and Windows File Manager)

All recommended tools are free.

Option 1: Windows users only: Install Windows Software with Chocolatey

Install Chocolatey

Use powerful automation tools to make installing software easier. Install Chocolatey, the Windows Package Manager from https://chocolatey.org/ by following the directions on the website.

Install Software with Chocolatey

Right-click in your Documents folder, and select 'Open PowerShell as Administrator'. If you don't have this option, see Windows Setup for Developers.

Using the -y flag is optional and will automatically answer 'yes' to install questions.

It's safe to install software you already have (e.g., typically Chrome is already installed). You can find additional information by going to the specific link from https://chocolatey.org/packages.

All at once:

choco install anaconda3 vscode git tortoisegit -y

Refresh environment variables if they have been modified.

refreshenv

Or one at a time:

choco install anaconda3 -y
choco install vscode -y
choco install git -y
choco install tortoisegit -y
refreshenv

Optional: Browse Chocolatey Software Packages

Explore at https://chocolatey.org/packages.

Optional: Verify Installation

View list of locally-installed programs. Open PowerShell here as Admin and run:

choco list -local

Inspect the downloaded software - the default location is 'C:\ProgramData\chocolatey' (or for earlier installations, 'c:\chocolatey').
Inspect your updated Windows environment variables. Hit Win key and type env. Select "Edit System Environment Variables". From System Properties window Advanced tab, click "Environment Variables".

Periodically: Upgrade All

To upgrade your versions, periodically run choco upgrade. You can automate this script to make it even easier.

choco upgrade chocolatey -y
choco upgrade all -y
refreshenv

Option 2: Install Software (Using the installers on their websites)

Installers

Alternatively, each tool can be installed in the traditional manner. Just go to the website for the software and follow instructions to download, install, and configure tools using provided installers.

Installation Issues

Important!

Ensure VS Code installs right-click 'Open with Code' on folder context menus. If not, reinstall using traditional methods.
Windows users only: Ensure full TortoiseGit context menus are available. If not, reinstall using traditional methods.

Terms

automation tools
web browser
Chocolatey
editor
environment variables
package manager
upgrade (get the latest version)
Windows (operating system)

Next Steps

Configure Git distributed version control system and automate software upgrades

See Git Started With Windows

denisecase / basic-tools-for-data-analytics-fundamentals