Python: Go to the Python download page and click on the link for Python 3.2.3 Windows Installer. Note that there are two different versions. Choose the installer that is appropriate for your computer (either Python 3.2.3 Windows x86 MSI Installer or Python 3.2.3 Windows x86-64 MSI Installer). The first is for a 32-bit machine the second is for a 64-bit machine. If you are not sure which is appropriate read this article.
Once the msi file has finished downloading, double-click it to run the installer. The installer will prompt you for an installation location, you can leave the default. It will also prompt you to configure the files to install, you can leave the defaults.
Once the installer is finished you can run Python from the command line using the full path to the .exe file. To configure Windows so that Python can be run from any directory, you will need to set environment variables. Instructions can be found under "Configuring Python" on the Python for Windows installation page.
Emacs: Go to the Emacs download page and click on the emacs-24.1-bin-i386.zip link. Decompress the downloaded zip file to where you would like Emacs installed (a typical location is the Program Files folder). Double click the addpm application that is inside the bin folder of the emacs-23.3 folder you decompressed. You can now run Emacs from the windows start menu.
Terminal: Windows has a terminal-like application called Command Prompt that you can use to run your Python programs. There are a few differences you should take note of:
To list files use the dir command.
Back slash characters are used to separate directories in file paths.
There is no root directory. Instead there are multiple drives. Typically most files will be found on the drive C:\
Zip: Windows has zip compression software integrated into the operating system. To compress or zip a folder, right click on the folder and choose New > Compressed (zipped) Folder.
Python: OS X comes with python, but it not the version that the course text book uses. To install the newer version of Python, go to the Python download page and click on the link for Python 3.2.3 Mac OS X Installer. Note that there are two different versions. Choose the installer that is appropriate for your computer (either Python 3.2.3 Mac OS X 64-bit/32-bit x86-64/i386 Installer or Python 3.2.3 Mac OS X 32-bit i386/PPC Installer). The first is for OS X versions 10.6 and 10.7 and the second is for OS X versions 10.3 through 10.6. If you are not sure which is appropriate read this article. Once the dmg file has finished downloading, double click it to mount the disk image and double-click the installer to run it.
Emacs: Go to the Emacs for OS X download page and click on the download button. Double click on the downloaded dmg file and follow the instructions.
Terminal: You can find the terminal application in the Utilities folder in your Applications folder.
Zip: You can zip files from the command line using the same
zip command that you use in lab.