11 Unix

ABSTRACT

The goal of this coding tutorial is to set up a unix-like environment on your computer.

• macOS or Linux: You are already set! Move directly to the next tutorial 12_terminal
• Windows: Follow the steps bellow to create a “sandbox” where you can run Ubuntu safely inside your current Windows system.

Why do you need a Unix environment?

Most professional software development, cloud servers, and scientific computing tools are built for Unix. Using it across all computers ensures:

• Consistency: avoid the “it works on my computer” problem.
• Better tools: access to industry-standard utilities like Bash, Git, and Docker.
• Seamless Paths: No inconsistency between Windows backslashes (\) and Unix forward slashes (/).

1. Identify your operating system

If you are on macOS:

1. Press Cmd + Space , type “Terminal” and hit Enter.
2. Type uname -s and press Enter.
3. If it says Darwin you environment is ready.

If you are on Linux, you already know.

If you are on Windows, you don’t have a Unix-based command line. Instead of creating a full Virtual Machine, we will use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), which is much easier and faster.

WSL

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator: Right-click the Start button and select “Terminal (Admin)” or “PowerShell (Admin)“.
2. Install Ubuntu: Type wsl --install and press Enter.
3. Restart: Once the process finishes, restart your computer.
4. Launch: After restarting, open “Ubuntu” from your Start menu. It will ask you to create a username and password.

You can verify the installation by running the following command: lsb_release -a.

SUCCESS

Congratulations! You now have a Unix environment ready. Continue learning how to use the 12_terminal.