Lab 1 - Fall 2019

Introducing the Command Line and DrRacket

The main purpose of this initial laboratory exercise is to practice working with

• your new CS Linux account
• the DrRacket IDE
• (because my approval from GitHub classroom has not been processed yet, we'll save GitHub for next week)

You will edit and run your first program within the cs101 course directory of your CS account. Today I'd like you to work through the rocket animation exercise in the Prolog. Eventually please customize your program so that something-you-choose is landing rather than the rocket. Customize the scene's background and add a terrain. The goal of this lab is to make sure you are comfortable using your Linux account to create, run, and submit your work electronically for grading. Save your file as your-name-lab1.rkt and submit it on moodle.

At the command line:

1. Bring up a terminal window by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting Open in Terminal in the pop-up menu
2. Create a new directory named cs101 in your home directory, and set the permissions so that only you can access the contents of this directory. To do this, type the following commands, pressing return after each command, at the Linux prompt:
   • cd
   • mkdir cs101
   • chmod 700 cs101
3. Create a new directory for this lab in your cs101 directory by entering the following at the Linux prompt:
   • cd cs101
   • mkdir lab1
   • cd lab1
4. To launch DrRacket, enter the following command at the Linux prompt:
   • drracket &
5. When DrRacket loads, you will be presented with a window that is divided into two main frames: the definitions window (top half) and the interactions window (bottom half).
6. Select Racket / Limit Memory. Make sure Limited is selected and type in 256 MB. Restart Dr Racket to see the updated limit.
7. From the Language menu along DrRacket's menu bar, select Choose Language…. In the left column, make sure the arrow head to the left of How to Design Programs is pointing downwards. If the arrow is not pointing downwards, click on it. This will cause a list of language levels to appear. Click on Beginning Student Language. Select the OK button at the bottom right to save this selection.
8. To make BSL your default language (if you haven't already), click on the Run button at the top of the screen. The interactions window will display the lines shown below:
   • Welcome to DrRacket, version 7.4 [3m].
   • Language: Beginning Student; memory limit: 256 MB.

Now you are ready to begin programming! Note that you will need to follow steps 6-8 when setting up DrRacket on your own computer, too.

Log out

When you are done, close DrRacket by choosing Quit from the File menu, and then locate the logout option on the menu bar (lower right corner). Choose “Logout…” and follow any remaining prompts. Always remember to log out when you are done using the system, to ensure that no one else uses your account.