External Documentation - ika-rwth-aachen/acdc GitHub Wiki

Course Prerequisites

As described in the course overview, to successfully complete this course,

  • basic programming skills with Python and C++, and
  • basic skills in using Linux and command line interfaces

are advantageous. During our course, if you notice that you lack these skills or you just want to refresh these skills, come back to this page and follow these tutorials:

Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

Since we recommend to use Visual Studio Code as your IDE, we also recommend the following tutorial:

If you haven't already, install VS Code now and get to know the basic features by following the above tutorial.

Version Control with Git

During the course, you will interact with the version control system Git. If you are interested to get to know more about Git, we recommend to follow this tutorial:

Building and Running Docker Images

The course materials are provided via Docker images. If you want to know more about Docker and be able to build your own applications with Docker, you may follow this tutorial:

Dealing with errors or being stuck when developing software

During the course, you will probably come across errors or you will not know how to approach a task when developing code. This is completely normal and dealing with these situations is an essential skill of software developers.

There are several ways to deal with these situations that you may try:

  • Revisit your code and try to find the correct approach on your own.
  • For errors, debug your software using the debug tools of your IDE.
  • Explain your situation to someone else, e.g. using this method.
  • Take a look at the relevant software documentation.
  • Type in error messages in a search engine.
  • Describe your situation to modern AI tools such as ChatGPT: Start Chat here. (Requires registration with OpenAI).
  • Describe your situation on the edX course forum.