There are four tasks we ask you to complete before the tutorial. If you don't, the software won't run on your machine!

1. Identify the terminal or command-line on your machine

The terminal or command line is a text interface located on every computer which we'll need for our tutorial. On Macs, the terminal is located in Applications > Utilities; on a Windows and Linux machines, the terminal is located in Programs. Windows users may additionally install Putty.

2. Install a Text Editor

If you don't have one already, please install a text editor on your laptop. Our recommendation is that you install the free Sublime Text Editor but any text editor will work.

3. Install a File Archiver/Extractor

If you don't have one already, please install a file archiver/extractor such as WinZip or 7-Zip.

4. Install the latest version of Java

The software we'll be using requires that your computers have the Java JDK 8 package installed. You can download Java JDK 8 for your operating system from here.
Installing Java is straightforward. However, should you need more detailed instructions, you can visit:

• Windows
• Linux
• Mac OS X

1. Open your command line or terminal.
2. Make sure you are at your user directory. You should be in your user directory by default. This is what your terminal window should look like:
   
   
   
   If, for instance, your default directory is 'Downloads', please change the default directory to your home folder by typing "cd ../" (without the quotation marks):
   
   
   
   
3. Once you're in your home directory, type "java" (without the quotation marks) and press ENTER. If the command is not found, go to point 5).
4. Then type "javac" (without the quotation marks) and press ENTER. If the command is not found, this means you have to add another small entry to your user path (point 5) again).
5. This video shows you what to do if problems occur. As Windows computers are more prone to errors, this video is a Windows guide. Video guides to the same problem are also available for other operating systems in Youtube.
6. If you receive a long list with parameters, your installation was successful.
7. To double-check the installation, type "java -version" and the terminal should return something like "1.8.0_45" as the name of your newly installed java directory or the .exe you ran to install it.