How to start a new project

Steps to take

1. Create a GitHub repo
   1. Good terse description
   2. Add README.md
   3. Appropriate .gitignore
2. Clone the repo to your
   hard drive
3. Initialize your project's
   dev environment
4. Set up TDD tools and write/run a smoke test
5. Begin TDD process
6. Add-Commit-Push frequently

python demo

1. Create a GitHub repo with Python .gitignore
2. Clone the repo to your hard drive and cd into the directory
3. Initialize a virtual environment in your project directory:
   python -m venv venv
4. Activate the virtual environment:
   source ./venv/bin/activate (OSX/Linux)
   source ./venv/Scripts/activate (Windows)
5. Setup testing:
   pip install pytest pytest-testmon pytest-describe pytest-watch
6. Export installed package list (each time new package installed)
   pip freeze > requirements.txt
7. git Add-Commit-Push
8. Begin TDD process

javascript demo

1. Create a GitHub repo with Node .gitignore
2. Clone the repo to your hard drive and cd into the directory
3. Initialize a new Node project:
   npm init (answer "jest" for testing command)
4. Setup testing:
   npm install --save-dev jest
5. git Add-Commit-Push
6. Begin TDD process

Explaining the steps

GitHub: Description

Potential audiences:

• Potential Employers or Teammates
• Your classmates or other coders
• Your instructor

Goal: Capture and highlight the key GOALS of the repo,
           not necessarily what your program actually does,
           but it's good if you can do both

Examples:

• BAD: A FizzBuzz program
• GOOD: A FizzBuzz demo of TDD with python and pytest

GitHub: .gitignore

The .gitignore file is a list of file and directory names (one per line) that should be ignored by git when you run commands like `git add`. These files and folders will NOT be added to your git repo.

Generally these are files/folders that other people would NOT need if they wanted to clone and run your project.

Python Examples

.pytest_cache

__pycache__/

venv/

JS Examples

node_modules/

logs/

coverage/

cloning the repo

It is extremely important to keep your project files in a logical and organized location on your hard drive.

• Create a `dev` folder where you always clone repos:
  • /Users/yourusername/dev  (OSX)
  • C:\Users\yourusername\dev (Windows)
• Make sure there are no spaces in the file pathname
• Do NOT clone a repo inside of another repo

setting up the
dev environment

The goal here is to:

• Create an isolated, self-contained space to store the files in your project
• Make sure ALL of the files in your project are inside of your git repo
• Setup a space where 3rd party packages necessary for your project can be installed locally

Writing and running a smoke test

The goal here is to:

• Make sure that you've setup your dev environment correctly
• Make sure that your testing environment works

frequent
commits

The goal here is to:

• Keep your local project directory in sync with your remote git repo
• Protect yourself so that even if your computer dies, your project is not lost
• Enable other people to more easily collaborate with you

Each time you complete a small piece, it's a good idea to add those changes and commit them.

summary

Following this procedure for creating a new project will put you on the right path to a smoother development process.

Although the details will differ, you can/should use the same process for pretty much any programming language.

Happy coding!