How to Set Up Your JavaScript Development Environment

Article 2: How to Set Up Your JavaScript Development Environment

Introduction

Now that you’ve written your first JavaScript program in the browser console, it’s time to set up a proper development environment. This will help you write and test more complex code efficiently as you progress through the course.

In this post, I’ll guide you through setting up a development environment using Visual Studio Code (VS Code)—one of the most popular code editors among developers.

Step 1: Install Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a lightweight but powerful code editor. It’s free, easy to use, and works well with JavaScript.

Instructions to Install VS Code:

Download VS Code: Visit the official website and download the installer for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).
Install the Application: Follow the installation steps based on your system. It’s usually as simple as double-clicking the downloaded file and following the prompts.

Once installed, open Visual Studio Code. It should look something like this:

(This is a sample image of the VS Code interface)

Step 2: Install Node.js (Optional but Recommended)

Although JavaScript runs in the browser, installing Node.js allows you to run JavaScript outside the browser, making your development environment more versatile.

Instructions to Install Node.js:

Download Node.js: Go to the Node.js website and download the LTS (Long Term Support) version for your operating system.
Install Node.js: Follow the instructions to install it.

After installation, open Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS/Linux) and type the following command to check if Node.js is installed:

node -v

This should return the version number of Node.js, confirming the installation.

Step 3: Create Your First JavaScript File

Now that you have VS Code installed, let’s create your first JavaScript file.

Instructions to Create a JavaScript File:

Open VS Code.
Create a New Folder: On your computer, create a folder for your JavaScript projects. You can call it something like javascript-learning.
Open the Folder in VS Code: In VS Code, go to File > Open Folder and select the folder you just created.
Create a New JavaScript File: In the Explorer panel on the left, click the New File button (or press Ctrl + N) and name the file script.js.

Step 4: Write and Run JavaScript in VS Code

Now, let’s write some basic JavaScript in your new script.js file.

Example:

In script.js, write the following code:

console.log("Hello, World from VS Code!");

To run this JavaScript file, you have a few options:

Option 1: Running JavaScript in the Browser

Create an HTML file (e.g., index.html) in the same folder.
Add this basic HTML code:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>JavaScript Test</title>
</head>
<body>
    <script src="script.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Open index.html in your browser (you can right-click the file and select Open with Chrome or your preferred browser).
Open the browser console (F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I), and you should see the message:

Hello, World from VS Code!

Option 2: Running JavaScript with Node.js (if installed)

Open Command Prompt or Terminal.
Navigate to the folder where script.js is located using the cd command. For example:

cd path/to/javascript-learning

Run the following command to execute your JavaScript file:

node script.js

You should see the message:

Hello, World from VS Code!

Next Steps

Now that your development environment is set up and you’ve successfully run JavaScript both in the browser and with Node.js, you're ready to dive deeper into JavaScript programming! In the next post, we’ll explore variables in JavaScript and how you can use them to store data.

Stay tuned for more exciting lessons!

Pro Tip:

Once you get familiar with VS Code, you can enhance your workflow by installing extensions like ESLint for code linting and Live Server for auto-reloading your browser when you make changes.

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