Tools
Git
Version controlA tool, not a languageFree & open source
The save-and-undo system used for almost all software.
Bash
Command lineShell & scriptingFree & open source
The command line: type an instruction, get an answer.
MS-DOS
Command lineOperating systemComputer history
The prompt every PC started at, before Windows.
What do those words mean?
- Version control
- A system that keeps every version of your files, so you can compare, go back in time, and work in parallel without losing anything.
- Command line
- You type instructions to the computer as words instead of clicking on pictures. Older than windows and icons, and still the fastest way to get many jobs done.
- Shell & scripting
- A "shell" is the program that listens at the prompt and runs what you type; because those instructions can also be saved in a file and run later, a shell is a little programming language too.
- Operating system
- The program in charge of the whole computer: it starts everything else, keeps track of your files, and gives you a way to tell it what to do.
- Computer history
- Not something you would build with today, but worth meeting: it explains why computers work the way they do now.
- Free & open source
- Costs nothing, and its own code is public for anyone to read and improve.