GNotiPy Part II

Before I pick up where I left off last time, I wanted to make note of the screen capture software that I have been using for these posts. I have been using this free and open source screen capture software called Greenshot. It is terrific and I wanted to take the time to give them some credit.

If you haven't seen part one of this series, please read this first.In this post I will discuss how to set up Git and Github in Eclipse so that you can use it for your code. I will also go over setting up a repository in Github . Finally we will go over impoprting your repo into Eclipse and performing your first commit from Eclipse.

In the 3rd part I will go over the actual code and how to use the Google Calander API.

Setting up GIT and GitHub in Eclipse:
You will need to install EGit in Eclipse in the same way that you installed PyDev in the previous post. This time you will use the below address for the update:

http://download.eclipse.org/egit/updates

You should see something similar to this:

After following these installation instructions, you should have Egit installed and be ready to go with Git. There are plenty of other options that you can set up and I suggest you go here for a great tutorial for setting up the other Git options in Eclipse.

Creating a Repository in GitHub:
I am not going to go into too much detail here. If you are using windows (as I am currently for work purposes), you can download GitHub for Winows and check out the FAQ. If you choose not to go this route, then you should follow these instructions for installing GIT on your machine. After signing up for an account (if you don't already have one) at GitHub, you can click on the Create New Repository button on the home page:

To get a copy of the repository on your local machine in order to work with it in Eclipse, follow these instructions.

Import Repository into Eclipse:
In Eclipse, click on File -> Import, then in the pop-up box choose Git -> projects from Git and click Next:

Then select Local and Hit Next:

In the next window select Add and then browse to the directory where you cloned your repository and you should see something similar to the screenshot below (note that I did not have the forethought to take a screen shot when I first imported the project so you see I made a copy and called it _bad):

Click Finish and then finish again and you will be brought to the new project wizard:

I created a PyDev Google App Engine Project because this is going to run in AppEngine (which is nice because it sets up a whole bunch of stuff for you making it easier to create AppEngine applications). Click on Next and then give your project a name:

Click on Next again. You must now select your AppEngine directory (usually C:\Program Files\Google\google_appengine). You will be asked which libraries to include (for now just include all and hit next). Then you will need to add your app id (you should already have one registered if you do not go read the tutorial here) and template (choose Empty Project):

Click on Finish and your project should be created:

Your 1st Commit: 
Now in your SRC folder within the project in Eclipse you are going to create an App.yaml file for the configuration of your App Engine project (you will of course need to change your application name to match):

After you have saved the file, right click the project and click on team -> Commit:

Add a commit message and select commit and push:

Go to GitHub and look at your Repo and see if your change is there:

Congratulations...You have just made your first commit to Github from Eclipse. Stay tuned for the final installment where we discuss the code to make it all happen and push it to AppEngine to deploy it.

Social Coding?

When I first started writing code the general stereotype of a coder was that of a loner geek sitting in front of a computer in his mom's basement. This stereotype has gone on to cause a decline in the number of Computer Science students that this country produces every year.

We may have rightfully earned this reputation (I have at times called myself an indoor enthusiast). There are, of course, still plenty of message boards filled with smug coders who think that they are above helping a "n00b" or who are tired of students looking for homework help. These people were, until recently, the vocal minority. They were the ones screaming the loudest and that was all anyone heard.

Recently, this stereotype has changed. Now people are seeing developers as cool, sheik (thanks for pointing out my error Ellie) chic, and interesting people who have a wide variety of interests and who have social lives. This is evidenced by the influence and reach of programmers through Twitter and by a  number of code hosting/social networking sites that have recently started cropping up. There a plenty of places now for Coders to go and find other people who are interested in the same projects and languages. There are sites for finding open source projects like Ohloh, Project Kenai, Launchpad.Net, Git Hub, Source Forge, and Google Code (I'm sure there's even more than that).

There are sites like DZone and Stack Overflow that help bring the community together and solve problems. These communities help programmers from all over the world share ideas, knowledge, and allow for easier collaboration.

The Social Web has been able to bring together like minded people from all over the world and has helped to make computing better for everyone.It has also, hopefully, put to rest many of the bad stereotypes about computer programmers. This should also help to increase the number of students who choose Computer Science as their major and increase awareness of the need to begin teaching computer science in primary school. If you are a programmer (or a parent) find out why schools should teach computer science and the facts about CS education.