CS 116: Introduction to Computer Science 2

Software needed for CS 116

Below are instructions for the two main downloads you will need in order to do your assignments for CS 116. If you have any problems downloading any software please contact a CS 116 ISA at CS 116@uwaterloo.ca or come to office hours.

Notice for CS 116 Online version (Spring 2020 and later)

The online version for the course will be taught with edX. The online module cotains a built-in sandbox interpreter that has all the in-coding features needed. Additionally, if you are enrolled in the course, you can directly submit your solutions to MarkUs via edX.

Python and Wing Python IDE


Please follow the walkthroughs below:

Walkthrough for Windows users

Walkthrough for Mac users


Please note the following:

  • Unlike DrRacket and Scheme, Python is not bundled with the editor we recommend for this course. Follow the walkthroughs above to download the right versions for your computer.

  • There are many editors in which you can write your Python code; IDLE is an editor which comes packaged with Python, and it works fine. However, we have chosen to use the Wing 101 editor as the standard IDE for our course. You don't have to use Wing Python IDE 101; you can develop your Python programs very successfully in other editors like IDLE, emacs, vi, or vim. If you prefer to use a program other than IDLE, you are more than welcome to. As long as you use Python 3, you'll be fine.

  • Note that if you double click a .py file in Windows Explorer, it will execute the code in the Python interpreter, not in Wing Python IDE. If you want to open a file to edit in Wing Python IDE, you can either open it using the "File>Open" menu in Wing Python IDE, by right-clicking and choosing "edit with Wing Python IDE", or by changing the default program for opening .py files.

  • Documentation about Wing Python IDE 101 is here, and also available by using the system's help files. They are not nearly as friendly as those of DrRacket, but they're more friendly than most editors' help files.

Compatibility of Wing and Python

  • For Mac users, Wing 101 is only compatible with OS X / macOS 10.12+. For more information about supported platforms, click here.

  • We recommend you use the latest version of Python (v 3.8.#) with the latest Wing Python IDE (v7.2.5)

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Last modified on Friday, 03 September 2021, at 22:04.