Why are we asking participants to install software?

We could provide a virtual machine in the cloud with everything pre-installed and ask participants to connect to it.

However, we prefer that participants follow the workshop in the environment where they are likely to work in future, and know how to set this up and configure it. We would like that participants are able to continue using tools also after the workshop, in a familiar development environment of their choice.

We are aware that this choice comes at a price: it is very difficult for us to provide installation instructions that work “everywhere” and it requires from participants to do some work before they arrive at a workshop. Yes, installing software is harder than you might expect. Don’t be afraid to ask for help in setting it up: this is also a good skill to have.

We are also aware that not everybody is comfortable with creating new accounts for this workshop. And therefore we provide Instructions for removing a GitHub repository or account, if you wish to do so.