Installing Development Tools on Fedora: A Step-by-Step Guide

Installing Development Tools on Fedora: A Step-by-Step Guide

As a web developer, installing development tools is an essential step in your workflow. The right tools can save you time and make your job more efficient. In this article, we will guide you through the process of installing development tools on Fedora. We will cover everything from setting up the environment to configuring individual tools. By the end of this article, you will have a complete set of development tools installed on your Fedora machine, ready to use for any project.

Before we begin, there are a few things you should check:

  • Make sure your Fedora machine is up-to-date with the latest software packages. You can do this by running sudo dnf update in the terminal.
  • Check that your computer has enough disk space and RAM to run development tools without issues.
  • Ensure that you have a text editor installed on your machine. Fedora comes with GNOME Terminal, which is a good choice for most web developers.

    Installing Development Tools on Fedora

1. Install the necessary packages

The first step in installing development tools on Fedora is to install the necessary packages. We will use dnf (Fedora’s package manager) to do this.

Open a terminal window and run the following command:

bash
sudo dnf update && sudo dnf install -y git cmake make gcc g++ flex bison autogen automake libboost-all-dev libcurl-devel libjsoncpp-devel libxml2-devel python3-pip python3-dev python3-setuptools python3-wheel

This command will update your package list and install the following packages: Git, CMake, Make, GCC and G++, Flex and Bison, Autogen and Automake, Boost libraries, libcurl development files, libjsoncpp development files, libxml2 development files, Python 3, pip for Python 3, and wheel support for Python 3.

  1. Configure global settings
    Once you have installed the necessary packages, you need to configure some global settings. This will make your life easier in the long run.

    Open a new terminal window and run the following commands:

    bash
    export PATH"/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
    export GCC_HOME"/usr"
    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH"$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/usr/lib"
    export CMake_HOME"$CMAKE_FIND_ROOT_DIR"
    export AUTOGEN_WRAPT_PREFIX/usr/local
    export AUTOMAKE_HOME/usr
    export PYTHON3_EXECUTABLE"/usr/bin/python3"
    export PYTHON3_INCLUDE_DIRS"/usr/include/python3.x"
    export PYTHON3_LIBRARY_DIRS"/usr/lib/python3.x"

These commands will set the necessary environment variables for your development tools to work correctly.

3. Install IDEs and text editors

Once you have installed your development tools and configured global settings, it’s time to install an IDE or text editor of your choice. Fedora comes with several options, including KDevelop, Visual Studio Code, and GNOME Terminal.
For web developers, Visual Studio Code is a popular choice. It has great support for JavaScript and other web development languages, as well as a variety of extensions to enhance your workflow. To install Visual Studio Code on Fedora, follow these steps:

  1. Open a terminal window and run the following command to download the latest version of Visual Studio Code from the official website:
    bash
    wget -O

    /usr/local/bin/code.sh

    https://code.visualstudio.com/sh/code-linux-x64

2. Run the installation script by executing the following command in the same terminal window:

bash

/usr/local/bin/code.sh

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Once Visual Studio Code is installed, you can open it from the GNOME desktop or by running the following command in a terminal window:

bash

/usr/local/bin/code .

This will open Visual Studio Code in your current directory.

4. Install Git

Git is a version control system that allows you to keep track of changes to your codebase over time. It is an essential tool for any web developer, and it’s easy to install on Fedora.
To install Git, run the following command in a terminal window:
bash

sudo dnf install git

Once Git is installed, you can check your version by running the following command:

css

git –version

If everything is installed correctly, you should see the version number of Git.

5. Install Node.js and NPM

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that allows you to run JavaScript code on your computer. It’s an essential tool for web developers who work with JavaScript libraries like React or Angular.
To install Node.js, follow these steps:

  1. Open a terminal window and run the following command to download the latest version of Node.js from the official website:
    bash
    wget -O /usr/local/bin/node-setup.x86_64 -Q https://nodejs.org/en/download/

2. Run the installation script by executing the following command in the same terminal window:

bash

/usr/local/bin/node-setup.x86_64

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Once Node.js is installed, you can check your version by running the following command:

bash

node -v

And install NPM by running the following command:

bash

sudo npm install -g npm

Once Node.js and NPM are installed, you can check your version by running the following command:

bash

npm –version

And

bash

node -v

If everything is installed correctly, you should see the version number of Node.js and NPM.

  1. Configure IDEs and text editors
    Once you have installed your development libraries and tools, it’s time to configure your IDEs/text editors to work with them.

    For Visual Studio Code, follow these steps:

    1. Open Visual Studio Code from the GNOME desktop or by running the following command in a terminal window:
      bash

      /usr/local/bin/code .

2. Click on the “Extensions” icon in the left-hand sidebar.

3. Search for the development libraries and tools you want to install, such as Python or Node.js.

4. Install the extensions you need by clicking on the “Install” button next to each extension.

5. Open a new project or open an existing one in Visual Studio Code.

  1. Configure your IDE/text editor settings by opening the settings file (File > Preferences > Settings) and adding the necessary configurations for your development libraries and tools.
    For example, to configure Python in Visual Studio Code, add the following settings to your settings file:
    json
    {
    "python.defaultInterpreter": "/usr/bin/python3",
    "python.linting.enabled": true,
    "python.linting.flake8Enabled": true,
    "python.linting.flake8Args": ["–max-line-length120", "–py_compile"],
    "python.formatting.blackEnabled": true
    }

Summary

In conclusion, installing development tools and libraries on Fedora is a straightforward process that can be completed in just a few simple steps. With the right tools and settings in place

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