First, you have to have access to Linux operating system (OS). Throughout this course we will be using Ubuntu, which is a common distribution of Linux. We recommend using either version 20.04 or 22.04, to your choice. Below you'll find various ways to install Ubuntu. Please make sure you install it before the course starts, so we can start smoothly.
Feel free to open an issue if you're facing installation problems.
A common way to set up Ubuntu is to install it on a virtual machine, on top of your existed Windows installation, using VirtualBox:
https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/how-to-run-ubuntu-desktop-on-a-virtual-machine-using-virtualbox
Another recommended way is to install Ubuntu Desktop as the primary OS on your laptop or PC. You can choose to install the Linux next to an existing Windows OS, or instead of it (in such case you may miss some Windows software, like Office, that are no longer supported in Linux).
To install Ubuntu as your primary OS:
https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu-desktop
To install Ubuntu along with your existed Windows:
https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-dual-boot-windows-10-and-ubuntu-linux-dual-booting-tutorial/
We recommend that you'll install and use all the below tools on your fresh installed Ubuntu. In case you decide to work on another operating system, we cannot provide too much support for these during class.
- Git: https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git
- PyCharm Community: https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/#section=linux
Good Luck!