Unix environment for desktop computers

Let's set up your PC, so you can use unix more easily. You can connect to a unix server as long as you have ssh capability. But this will limit you to use pure command line interface (CLI). If you install X-Window server on your desktop machine, you can use graphic user interface (GUI), which is convenient for graphing and plotting data.

In the class, we'll learn programming in linux environment accessed through Cygwin/X. You should install X-window system to your desktop computers to do assignments etc.

The programming skill you learn in the class should be applicable to any platform. If you want to develop programs directly on your desktop computer (without connecting to linux server), you can install the developper tools. But they are not required for this class.

Windows

X-Window system
You have at least three options. If you don't want to install additional software to your desktop machine, you can use a nice CD-based system, which my friend, Dick Repasky, developped. This is slower, but it's easier option. Or you can install the full-blown Cygwin/X, which is not difficult if you follow the step-by-step installation.
- XLiveCD (documentation)
  CD based X-Window system. You can make a CD from the downloaded iso image. You can stick this CD to any computer, and it will set up basic X-window system without installing the software.
- Cygwin/X
  X-window system ported to MS Windows. Since the software is installed to the harddrive, it is faster than using XLiveCD. Installation is easy. See the step-by-step installation.
- Althernatively, Xming provide X-Window Server for Windows, and it may be easier to install (I've never tried this).
Developper tools
Cygwin: GNU compilers and other developping tools are ported to Windows, and they are relatively easy to install through Cygwin project. There are other options , too.
Install Linux with dual booting
Linux and windows can be installed side-by-side (dual-boot system). You can get the full power of linux, but it is overkill for this class. If you are feeling adventurous, and want to liberate yourself from the evil companies, let me know, I can help you.
There are many different flavors (distributions) of linux, but I like Fedora and CentOS.
Install linux on Virutal Machines
With dual-boot system, you run either linux or Windows at a time, and you need to reboot to change between them. However, you can run linux inside of Windows using something called virtualization. You can access both OS simultaneously without rebooting. There are several commercial solutions, but VirtualBox is freely available, and it works well (I have only used it to ran Windows on Mac). This is much easier than setting up the dual-boot system.

Mac OS-X

Mac OS-X is a flavor of unix, but you need to install several programs to use it as a more conventional unix box for programming.

X Window System (X11.app)

OS-X 10.2 (jaguar)
Apple removed the beta3 version of X11.app which works with 10.2 from their web site. You can find an alternative method here.
OS-X 10.3 (panther) and 10.4 (tiger)
X11.app is included in the "Optional Installs" package on the OS-X Tiger Install DVD.
OS-X 10.5 (leopard), 10.6 (snow leopard), 10.7 (lion)
X11 is installed by default.
You can use Applications->Utilities->Terminal, and X11 get launched automatically when it is required.
If you encounter problems with X11 included in OS-X 10.5.1, you can update with the latest release.
Double Click "Optional Installs" after inserting the Install DVD.
Under "Applications", you can find "X11".
Developer tools
If you are using OS-X 10.2 or 10.3, you can become Apple Developer Connection (ADC) member (free), and download the deveoper tools, which contains GNU C compiler (gcc). After logging in to the site, go to "downloads", go to "Developer Tools", and there should be a download links. Get the appropriate version for your OS-X version. It should be straight forward to install, but here is more info.
- OS-X 10.2
  You need December 2002 Mac OS X Developer Tools. You should also install "August 2003 gcc Updater".
- OS-X 10.3
  You need XCode Tools v1.5. You should also download "Novermber 2004 GCC 3.3 Updater" from the same download page.
- OS-X 10.4
  You can download Xcode 2.5. No need to become ADC member.
- OS-X 10.5
  You can download Xcode 3.0. No need to become ADC member.
The Fink project brings the full world of Unix Open Source software to Darwin and Mac OS X. Step by step installation can be found here. Check which version of OS-X you have before installing fink.
This blog has lots of great tips about Fink.