Have you ever modified Windows 10 and installed VS Code? If so - this article is not meant for you. I'm only going to show the very most basic changes I make to a default Windows 10 installation in preparation for developing software. There are many, many more programs and settings to take care of when developing for a specific language and many many other tools to choose from. This is just my preferred basic setup.
Is becoming a software developer a dream of yours? The good news is that Windows 10 could be a good platform for programming. Not only is it simple to set up, but also there's a world of tools and software available so you can begin your journey to development. In this article, I'll cover my basic configuration for Windows 10 so you can focus on coding.
Let's start with getting rid of a few annoying things. The cortana button fills basically no purpose and the task view button is also pretty useless. Remove them by right-clicking on an empty space on the taskbar and uncheck "Show Cortana button" and "Show Task View button".
Another thing I like to do is removing the default Edge button from the taskbar. Simply right-click the button and select "Unpin from taskbar". You might want to keep it for testing purposes, but there are better browsers to install instead.
The last basic windows thing I usually do is to use the smaller buttons on the taskbar. This makes the useful area slightly larger, but honestly it's more of a personal preference. Right-click on the taskbar, select taskbar settings and turn on the "Use small taskbar buttons" option.
Before we go any further, one very important item you should consider is getting the most out of Windows 10's dark mode. Not only does it look great, but it's actually great for eyesight and takes less of a toll on your computer's power. So before you start anything, make sure you enable the dark mode in your settings. Right-click on the desktop, select "Personalize". Next select the "Colors" tab and make sure that "Dark" is selected.
Another personal preferrence is to show the "This PC" icon on the desktop. Right-click on the desktop, select "Personalize". Select the "Themes" tab and scroll down until you find the "Desktop icon settings" link. Click it and in check the "Computer" checkbox.
When developing it's sometimes necessary to access files or folders that are hidden by default. To show them, double click "This PC" on the desktop. In the window that opens up, select the "View" tab and check the "File name extensions" and "Hidden items" checkboxes.
The next thing you need to do is install all the necessary software for software development, so make sure you have the basics like Visual Studio Code, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), a text editor, and any other tools necessary. There are many IDE options out there, but my personal preference at the moment is Visual Studio Code. To install it, simply search for it:
Or simply go directly to the website (https://code.visualstudio.com/download) and select the option that matches your computer. The file should download and when it's done, click it to start the installation.
Follow the instructions on the installer. When installed it should open and the onboarding/welcome part will guide you. Make sure to select the Dark Modern mode since that is the only one that looks good and will not burn through your eyes. :)
When you get to the "Boost your productivity", click "Install Git". While not actually necessary to start developing, at some point in the development career you will find it essential. You will be routed to a website, but if not - click the https://git-scm.com/download/win link, download the installer and run it. The installer asks a ton of questions, but for the most part - accept the default values. The only one I change is the "Configuring the line ending conversions" to "Checkout as-is, commit as-is". The reason I do this is that I've had a bunch of problems when developing in a multi-platform environment and this is simply easier and will not mess anything up.
Once Git has been installed, I usually just change one more thing and that is to use a formatter on save. This will help quite a bit (although there are times when it can also be annoying). For now, just go into VS Code settings (bottom left corner, the cog-icon) OR the shortcut (Ctrl+,). Then search for "editor.format" and you will probably see the setting "Editor: Format On Save". Click on the checkbox to enable Format a file on save.
Another step is to make sure your computer's resources are optimized for software development. For example, you may want to tweak your system power settings to keep your computer working properly. If you're writing complex and large programs, you may want to consider upgrading your RAM to ensure your computer has more capacity to handle anything you throw at it. Additionally, you should check out various tutorials online that help you configure Windows for optimal software development.
Once you have all the necessary software installed and your computer configured, you can transition to actually coding. Before you start, it's important to create a working environment that keeps you motivated and focused. Besides dark mode, you'll want to choose a comfortable chair, lighting that promotes productivity, and an organized desktop. The key is to create an environment where you'll be motivated to write code instead of wasting away the hours.
Once you've labelled everything you need, it's time to get into the fun stuff: coding. With the proper environment created and the right software tools installed and set up, learning a programming language should be relatively simple. In addition to the tutorials you can find online, you can also refer to various books to learn new programming languages.
Well, that was easy...
At this point, you should have everything you need to start your software development journey on Windows 10. Remember to keep the environment comfortable and productive, and don't be afraid to take advice from the experts. With the proper setup, you should be able to achieve programming greatness in no time.
In coming articles I will describe a couple of easy "Hello World" projects for a few programming languages.
