Please complete ASAP!

Preliminaries

This lab consists of some simple tasks that you should complete on your own as soon as possible.

If you encounter any problems while completing these tasks, please post your question to Piazza, our class discussion site. The link to our Piazza course page is available on this site’s navigation bar.

Task 0: set up your CS account

In order to use the computing resources of the computer science department, you need to set up a CS account, which is different from your regular BU account. To do so, you will need to go the CS undergraduate lab, which is located in EMA 302 (730 Commonwealth Avenue, upstairs from Radio Shack; the main entrance is by Pavement Coffeehouse). Make sure to bring your BU ID with you to the lab.

Once you get to EMA 302, you should perform the account-creation process using one of the Unix machines, which are located on the left-hand side of the lab. Directions for doing so should be available when you enter the lab; ask one of the people at the help window if you don’t see an instruction sheet.

After you have completed the instructions for creating an account, show your BU ID to someone at the window. You are then free to leave the lab.

Task 1: review course policies

As your next task, please review the policies of the course, which can be found in the syllabus and using the links in the navigation bar. In particular, please review carefully the collaboration policies for this course. Note that under some circumstances collaboration between students is encouraged, but there are important limitations to the extent to which you may do so. Read over these policies and ensure that you understand to what degree you may work with other students. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Task 2: install the necessary software

In your work for this course, you will need to have access to the following programming tools:

The steps needed to obtain and install these tools depend on the operating system that you’re using. Select the appropriate link below:

(Note: You can also use these tools on the computers in the undergraduate lab.)

Task 3: Changing IDLE’s font size

One of the tools that comes with Python 3 is called IDLE, which we will be using to write our programs. On some computers, IDLE’s default font size is too small. In these cases, the _ character (the underscore) may be too small or invisible. Since we will use the _ character very frequently when writing Python code, you should change IDLE’s font size to at least 12 points.

On OS X:

On Windows: