This lab assignment will give you practice with unix, using a text editor (emacs), and running our update21 and handin21 commands.

Start by reading through all of the CS21 homepage. Pay special attention to the Schedule, Academic Integrity and Tips for success in CS21. You should get into the habit of checking this page weekly; the class topics, lab assignments, weekly readings, and announcements will be posted to the class Schedule each week.

Go to the CS homepage (http://www.cs.swarthmore.edu/). From there click on the "cs lab help" button and read the Welcome Message, The User Agreement, and The CS Lab Rules pages.

Read through our UsingUnix web pages and try the various unix commands. Make sure you understand the following commands: ls, cd, pwd, passwd, less, cat, mv, rm, cp, ssh

In a terminal window start the editor as follows:

$ emacs

A new editing window will open up. Click on the Help menu and select Emacs Tutorial. Start reading from the top. You can stop when you get to the section about "Buffers". As you read about each command in the tutorial, give it a try. This tutorial should take about 20-30 minutes to complete.

I have created a short Emacs Summary to help you remember the most frequently used commands. You may want to print this and bring it with you to class the first couple of weeks.

Note: if you added CS21 late, we may not have you in our list of students who can run update21 and handin21. Send me email if you have problems and I'll add you to our list so that these will work for you.

Once you have learned how to use a text editor, run update21 (if you haven't already) to get the starting directory for lab 0, then move into that directory (enter the blue commands):

$ update21          # creates subdirectory 00 in your cs21/labs directory
$ cd                # cd to home directory (in case you are not there already!)
$ cd cs21/labs/00   # cd into the directory for lab 00
$ pwd               # check to see that you are in the correct directory.
                    # if you are, it will print /home/your_uname/cs21/labs/00

The lab submission program, handin21, will grab all files from your cs21/labs/ directory. Each week, make sure you create your lab programs and files in the correct cs21/labs/XX directory.

Next, edit the file named bio.txt:

$ emacs bio.txt  

Before you begin answering the questions, you can set up emacs so that it will automatically fill each line with the appropriate number of words. Press Esc-x, type auto-fill-mode, and then press Enter. You should see at the bottom center of the emacs window the word Fill appears. Now begin answering the questions.

After you are done editing your bio.txt file, save your changes, exit the editor, then enter the ls command to list out all files. You should see the bio.txt file. You can also run the cat command on the file to see it's contents in the terminal window:

$ ls
bio.txt
$ cat bio.txt
... contents of bio.txt file displayed here ...

Once you are satisfied with your bio.txt file, hand it in by typing handin21 at the unix prompt.

You may run handin21 as many times as you like. Each time you run it new versions of your files will be submitted. Running handin21 after you finish a program, after any major changes are made, and at the end of the day (before you log out) is a good habit to get into.

Write a program called name.py that asks the user for their name and says "Hello", like this (what the user types is in blue):

$ python name.py 
Name: Jeffrey
Hello, Jeffrey !

To create and edit a newfile, use emacs:

$ emacs name.py 

Test your program several times, using different names. Once you get your program running, turn it in by running handin21 again.

We will be using Piazza this semester as a way to quickly address any questions that arise in the class. You can post questions to this forum and the professors and students from any section can post answers. Join Piazza (create a log in) and explore how to use it.

When you are done working in the lab, you should log out of the computer you are using. First quit any applications you are running, like firefox and the Terminal. Then click on the logout icon and choose "log out".

If you plan to leave the lab for just a few minutes and then come right back to work, you do not need to log out, but it is a good idea to lock your machine while you are gone. You can lock by clicking on the lock icon , or by running the lock command in a terminal window. You should not lock a machine if you plan to be gone for more than about 10 minutes, and you should not lock the lab machines during times when classes are held in the lab.

If you can't find a file you created, check to see that you are in the directory you think you are.

• ls: list the contents of your current working directory
• pwd: prints your current working directory (where you are in the file system)
• cd directory_path: moves you into the directory given by directory_path

If a file isn't in the directory you want it in, use the mv command to move it from its current location to a new location in your directory structure: The general form of the mv command is 'mv source destination', where 'source' is the pathname of the file you want to move and 'destination' is the pathname of the file you want to move it to. For example, if your bio.txt file is not in the correct cs21/labs/00 directory, here is how to move it to that directory:

  $ mv bio.txt ~/cs21/labs/00/bio.txt