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Setting Up an Environment

How to set up an environment to get started with soundworks.

Mac OSX

Install Node.js

  1. Open https://nodejs.org in your favorite browser (which shall not be Safari).
  2. Download the LTS (Long Term Support) version.
  3. Follow the instructions...
  4. When done, open a Terminal (cf. Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app) and type:
node -v

Press "Return" and you should see:

v12.16.1

(...or whatever Node.js version you just installed)

  1. Done!

Tip

To deal with several versions of Node.js in a easy way, you can install the n package globally on your machine, cf. https://www.npmjs.com/package/n.

npm install -g n

Check package documentation to learn how to avoid using sudo

Install a Text Editor

Pick a text editor of your choice, popular text editor nowadays seems to be

  • Sublime Text 3 - download - tells you from time to time that it would be nice to buy a license, but that's all
  • VSCode - download - probably a good idea if your are on windows
  • Atom - download

Sublime Text 3 - Advanced Configuration

If you just want to run an application, you can stop here.

The following are just the author preferences, do whatever suits best for you.

Package Control

Package control allows to install new packages and extends sublime text, follow instruction here.

EcmaScript Syntax

It's nice to install a new package to support new JavaScript language features:

  1. In Sublime type: cmd + shift + p
  2. Type "Install" in the dialog box, select "Package Control: Install Package"
  3. Search for the "Ecmascript Syntax" package and install it
Sublime Settings

Go to Preferences > Settings, paste the following in the Preferences.sublime-settings - User file and save (cmd + s):

json
{
  "caret_style": "blink",
  "color_scheme": "Packages/Color Scheme - Default/Monokai.sublime-color-scheme",
  "default_line_ending": "unix",
  "ensure_newline_at_eof_on_save": true,
  "font_size": 10,
  "highlight_line": true,
  "ignored_packages":
  [
    "Markdown",
    "Vintage"
  ],
  "index_files": false,
  "rulers":
  [
    80
  ],
  "show_encoding": true,
  "show_full_path": true,
  "show_line_endings": true,
  "tab_size": 2,
  "translate_tabs_to_spaces": true,
  "tree_animation_enabled": false,
  "trim_trailing_white_space_on_save": true,
  "word_wrap": true
}

[optional] Install Build Tools

In some applications, i.e. to use native node add-ons which are not shipped with binaries, you will need all the tools to compile the code.

  1. Open a Terminal (in Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app) and type:
xcode-select --install

and press Enter

  1. Click "Install" in the pop-up window and wait (this can be a bit long)...
  2. Note that you may need to re-install Node.js in such case.