Assignment 1

NOTE This assignment needs to be completed by the start of the second class. That means everything pushed to you remote GitHub repo before class starts.

In this first assignment, I’m asking you to do three things:

1. Make sure you’ve got your computer set up for class with all required software loaded and working.
2. Learn a little about Markdown, a plain text syntax that can make nicely formated documents.
3. Practice using the git / GitHub version control system.

Steps

1. If you weren’t able complete all the setup during class time, be sure that you have done so and everything is in working order. Set up a time to meet with me this week if you are having issues.

2. As I mentioned in class, Markdown is a useful plain text markup language (meaning you format your document by including special syntax directly in your text rather than, say, clicking a button like with MSWord). We will use it throughout the semester.

   To get some background information, read the Getting Started page (www.markdownguide.org/getting-started) for general information about Markdown. Also look through the guide at www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax/ for the basic Markdown syntax.

3. Initialize a file called introduction_hw_<your_last_name>.md in your /working directory. (NB Notice the file ending of *.md — this is a Markdown-style plain text file.).

   You can do this directly in RStudio by:

   1. Clicking the New file icon in the upper left corner and selecting Text file.
   2. Click the Save icon, change the name as required, change the save location to the /working folder, and save. Don’t forget to add the .md to the end. You will know you’ve done it correctly if the tab with your file name changes to include an icon that looks like a sheet of paper with an “MD” superimposed on it.

4. Within your file, please include the following:

   • A top-level (h1) header with the assignment name

   • The following sentence in which one word is bolded, one is italicized, and one is bold italicized:

     In God we trust. All others must bring data.

   • An unordered list of 3-5 book titles (italicized) with author

   • An ordered list of the order of operations for using git / GitHub before each class and work session

   • A block quote of a favorite short quote (including attribution)

   • A code block with the code x <- 1 inside

5. Check that your file builds correctly using RStudio’s Preview button. You’ll see that a *.pdf or an *.html verson of the file will be saved in your folder, depending on whether you selected to Preview HTML or Preview PDF if you clicked the downarrow instead of the button directly (default if you click the button should be *.html). You should stage, commit, and push these files in addition to the working *.md file.

6. As you’re working, take the following steps to add/stage, commit, and push your work to your repo using the Git tab in the upper right frame:

   1. Stage your changes to your file by clicking the button next to the file.
   2. Commit your changes with a short but informative message.
   3. Push your commit to GitHub.
   4. Log into the GitHub website, navigate to your repo, and confirm that you can see your changes.

Remember, you can do these steps as many times as you want. I would encourage you to commit smaller changes and push to your remote GitHub repo often rather than wait until the last minute.