How to create code development environments in various languages

How to create code development environments in various languages

In order to program, it is necessary to create a development environment for each language. This section describes how to set up specific development environments for Python, Clojure, C, Java, R, LISP, Prolog, Javascript, and PHP, as described in this blog. Each language has its own platform to facilitate development, which makes it possible to easily set up the environment, but this section focuses on the simplest case.

In addition, a text editor is necessary for each type of programming, and these are described separately in “Overview and Installation of Vim” and “Overview and Installation of SublimeText“. In addition, especially when working in a team, version control tools such as those described in “Overview of Git, Easy Usage, and Reference Books” are often used to manage code, so those interested should refer to these as well.

How to create a Python development environment

There are several ways to create a Python development environment, but here are some general steps

• Python installation: Download and install the latest Python version from the official Python website (https://www.python.org). Follow the installer to install Python on your system.
• Select a text editor or Integrated Development Environment (IDE): Select a text editor or IDE for editing Python code. Recommended text editors include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom; popular IDEs include PyCharm and Spyder.
• Create a virtual environment (optional): Python allows you to create a virtual environment for each project. Creating a virtual environment makes it easier to manage different packages and versions for each project. To create a virtual environment, you can use the venv module or the conda package management system.

Example of creating a virtual environment (when using venv):.

python -m venv myenv

• Activating a virtual environment: If you have created a virtual environment, it must be activated. The method of activating a virtual environment depends on the operating system.

Windows Case:

myenvScriptsactivate

macOS/Linux Case:

source myenv/bin/activate

• Install necessary packages: Install Python packages required for development. Use the pip package manager to manage dependencies. For example, to install the numpy package, run the following command

pip install numpy

• Development and Execution: Create and save your Python code in a text editor or IDE. Execute the code using the terminal or the IDE’s run function. For example, to execute a file named main.py, run the following command

python main.py

For more information on python, see “Python and Machine Learning.

How to create a Clojure development environment

This section describes how to create a development environment for Clojure.

• Java Installation: Since Clojure runs on the Java platform, Java must first be installed. This can be done using Oracle’s Java Development Kit (JDK) or OpenJDK. The latest version of Java can be downloaded and installed from the official website.
• Installing Leiningen: Leiningen is Clojure’s project management tool and is used to simplify the setup of the development environment and dependency management. on the official Leiningen website.
• Select a text editor or Integrated Development Environment (IDE): You will need to select a text editor or IDE to edit your Clojure code. Common text editors include Emacs, Vim, Sublime Text, Atom, etc. Clojure-specific IDEs include Cursive and Clojure for Visual Studio Code.
• Creating a Clojure project: Create a new Clojure project using Leiningen. This can be done by executing the following command in a terminal or command prompt

lein new myproject

The above command creates a new Clojure project named myproject.

• Manage project dependencies: Go to the project directory and edit the project.clj (or deps.edn) file to manage the dependencies. By editing this file, you can add the necessary Clojure library dependencies.
• Start the REPL: In the terminal or in the IDE, go to the project directory and start the REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop) The REPL is an environment for interactive evaluation of Clojure code.

cd myproject
lein repl

The above command goes to the myproject directory and starts the REPL.

• Development and Execution: Create and save your Clojure code in a text editor or IDE; you can also evaluate your Clojure code in the REPL; to execute a Clojure program, you can call a function in the REPL.

For more information on Clojure, see “Clojure and Functional Programming“.

How to create a development environment in C

This section describes how to create a development environment for the C language.

• Installing a C compiler: To compile the C language, you must first install a C compiler. A common C compiler is GCC (GNU Compiler Collection), which is available for many operating systems. For example, on a mac, this can be done with “brew install gcc” in homebrew, but other operating systems also install GCC, depending on the operating system used.
• Select a text editor: As with any other language, select a text editor to edit the C code. Common text editors include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom; C-specific IDEs include Code::Blocks and Dev-C++.
• Create a project: Create a new directory to organize and manage files by project. Create a C source code file (.c extension) in the project directory.
• Create C code: Create a new .c file in a text editor and write C code. For example, create a file named main.c and write the following code.

#include 

int main() {
    printf("Hello, world!n");
    return 0;
}

• Compile and Execute: Compile and execute a C program. This can be accomplished by executing the following commands in a terminal or command prompt

gcc -o executable_name source_file.c

The above command shall compile source_file.c and generate an executable binary file (executable_name). To execute the generated executable file, use the following command

./executable_name

For more information on the C language, see “C/C++ Language and Various Machine Learning Algorithms.

How to create a development environment in Java

Next, we will discuss how to create a Java development environment.

• Install JDK (Java Development Kit): To develop Java, you will need a JDK, which can be obtained by downloading and installing the latest JDK from Oracle’s official website or OpenJDK. This can be accomplished by downloading and installing the latest JDK from Oracle’s official website or OpenJDK, which includes a Java compiler (javac) and Java execution environment (java).
• Select a text editor or Integrated Development Environment (IDE): As before, you will also need to select a text editor or IDE to edit your Java code. Common text editors include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom, while Java-specific IDEs include Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans.
• Set system environment variables (optional): System environment variables can be set to access the Java compiler and execution environment. This can be done by creating an environment variable named JAVA_HOME and specifying the path to the JDK installation directory. The path to the JDK bin directory must also be added to the PATH environment variable.
• Create a project: Create a directory for each project to manage the Java source code.
• Create Java code: Create a new Java source file (with .java extension) in a text editor or IDE and write Java code. For example, create a file named Main.java and write the following code.

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello, world!");
    }
}

• Compile and Execute: Compile and execute the Java source code. This can be done by executing the following commands in a terminal or command prompt

javac Main.java

The above command compiles Main.java and generates a bytecode file named Main.class. The code is then executed as follows

java Main

The above command executes the generated bytecode file.

For more information on Java, see “Java, Scala and Koltlin, General Purpose Application Building Environments.

How to create a development environment in R

The following describes how to create a development environment for R.

• Installing R: In order to use R, you must first install R. This is accomplished by downloading and installing the latest R version from the official R website. This can be done by downloading and installing the latest version of R from the official R website. For example, on a mac, this can be done with “brew install r”.
• Select an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for R: Select an IDE for editing R code. These include
  • RStudio: RStudio is the most common and easiest to use IDE for R. You can download and install RStudio Desktop from the RStudio website.
  • Visual Studio Code: Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code allows you to build an R development environment using extensions, available by installing Visual Studio Code and adding R extensions.
• Package Management: Packages can be used to access additional features and tools in R. Use the R console or RStudio’s package panel to install, update, and manage packages. For example, the command install.packages(“packageName”) can be used to install a package.
• Create and run a script: Create an R script file (with extension .R or .Rmd) in the development project directory. This can be done by opening the script file in a text editor or IDE and writing R code.
• Running the script: Use the R console or the IDE’s run function to execute the R script. Running the entire script can be accomplished by opening the script file and using the Run button or command, or by executing individual commands in the console; if you are using RStudio, click the “Run” button with the script file open, or select a specific section of code If you are using Visual Studio Code, you can execute the code by pressing Ctrl + Enter.

For more information on R, see “R Language and Machine Learning.

How to create a LISP development environment

The following describes how to create a LISP development environment.

• Selecting a LISP processor: To develop LISP, you must first select a LISP processor. Common LISP processors include Emacs Lisp, which is built into GNU Emacs, Common Lisp processors (SBCL, Clozure CL, LispWorks, etc.), and Scheme processors (Racket, GNU Guile, etc.). Select a LISP processor from among these and install it. For example, to install Common Lisp on a Macintosh, use “brew install clisp”.
• Select a text editor or Integrated Development Environment (IDE): As before, select a text editor or IDE for editing LISP code. for Emacs) plug-in to create a Common Lisp development environment. The Scheme processor also provides its own integrated development environment.
• Use of REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop): In LISP development, it is common to use a REPL to interactively execute and test code. The REPL allows you to enter LISP code and directly see the results of the execution.
• Create a project: Create a directory for each project and manage LISP files.
• Create LISP code: Create a new LISP file (with .lisp extension) in a text editor or IDE and write LISP code.
• Loading and executing LISP files: You can load and execute the created LISP file with the REPL of the LISP processor. Usually, the command (load “filename.lisp”) is used to load the file and use the defined functions and variables.

In addition, some specific LISP processors come with tools and functions to assist development, such as build tools and debugging tools, and these tools and functions can be utilized to create an effective LISP development environment.

For more information on LISP, please refer to “LISP and Artificial Intelligence.

How to create a Prolog development environment

Below we describe how to create a Prolog development environment.

• Selecting a Prolog processor: To develop Prolog, you must first select a Prolog processor. Some common Prolog implementations are SWI-Prolog, GNU Prolog and SICStus Prolog. For example, to use SWI-prolog on a mac, you can install it with “brew install swi-prolog”.
• Select a text editor or Integrated Development Environment (IDE): Select a text editor or IDE to edit the Prolog code. Common text editors include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text and Atom. These editors offer Prolog-specific features and extensions. SWI-Prolog also has a development environment (SWI-Prolog IDE) integrated into SWI-Prolog itself.
• Create Projects: Create a directory for each project and manage Prolog files.
  Create Prolog file: Create a new Prolog file (.pl extension) in a text editor or in the IDE and write the Prolog code.
• Start Prolog processor: Start the selected Prolog processor. The REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop) can be started by executing the Prolog processor commands at the command prompt or terminal.
• Load and execute a Prolog file: In the Prolog REPL, load and execute the Prolog file you have created. Usually, consult(“filename.pl”). or [filename]. and other instructions are used to load the file. Once the contents of the file are loaded, the defined predicates and rules can be used.
• Executing a query and checking the results: With Prolog’s REPL it is possible to enter a query and check the results of the execution. Enter a query and the REPL will return an answer interactively.

For more information on Prolog, see “Prolog and Knowledge Information Processing“.

How to create a development environment in Javascript

The following describes how to create a JavaScript development environment.

• Select a text editor: Choose a text editor to edit your JavaScript code. Common text editors include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, and Atom, which offer JavaScript-specific features and extensions.
• Create a project: Create a directory for each project to manage JavaScript files.
  Create HTML files: For the web application or web page to be developed, create HTML files. Create a new HTML file (.html extension) in a text editor and describe the basic HTML structure.
• Create a JavaScript file: Create a new JavaScript file (with a .js extension) in a text editor and write the JavaScript code. Insert it into the HTML file.
• Browser developer tools: Use the browser’s developer tools to debug JavaScript and check execution results. In common browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.), you can right-click and select “Verify Element” or “Verify” to open the developer tools. This tool allows you to use the console tab to execute JavaScript code and check error messages.
• Local Server Setup: When developing JavaScript projects, this can be accomplished by setting up a local server. This facilitates development with different origins and testing of Ajax requests. A common method is to use Node.js’ http-server package, and execute the following commands in a terminal or command prompt.

npm install -g http-server

This command installs the http-server package globally. Go to the project directory and execute the following command to start the local server

http-server

You can then access it with any web browser (e.g., localhost://8080) to check the operation.

For details on Javascript, see “Front-end Development with Javascript and React.

How to create a development environment in PHP