Getting Started Guide

 = Set up the software =

First, you'll need to set up a copy of the otwarchive software. The easiest way to do this is with our Vagrant development environment, but experienced developers can also install and run the software locally:

• Set up the Archive on OS X using Homebrew
• Set up the Archive on Linux
• Set up the Archive on Windows (not recommended)

Download and configure a text editor

You will need a good text editor on your computer to edit the code. There are many freeware and cheap options:

• Linux: gedit, kedit (both free, already installed in most cases)
• Mac OS X: TextWrangler (free), TextMate (~$60)
• Windows: Notepad++ (free)
• All Platforms: Sublime (free neverending trial, $70 to get rid of license reminder)

Whatever text editor you pick, you need to configure its settings or preferences so that you edit with the same style as all the other coders.

Change the settings/preferences to:

• convert all tabs to spaces
• make tabs 2 spaces wide
• use UTF-8 encoding (without byte-order mark, if that is offered as an option)
• use UNIX end-of-line characters