Cygwin is a Unix-style terminal program and environment — it's basically like having a copy of Linux running right on your Windows computer.
Download and install Cygwin. (Here's a pretty good tutorial video, though it's long and starts with a stupid sexist joke.)
For Cygwin, unlike many other programs, it's important to hold onto the installation program, as it's also the program that you'll use to update Cygwin in the future. So save the installation program somewhere safe.
As part of the initial setup, you'll see a big, confusing screen marked “Select Packages”. This is where you can choose Unix-style programs to install for use in Cygwin. Snoop around and see if there's anything you'd like to try! It's all free, after all.
One program I need you to install is the terminal-mode editor called “nano”. Search for “nano”, and then click on the word “Skip”. It will change into the version number, which indicates that the program will be installed.
If you ever want to install new programs for Cygwin, you can run the Cygwin installation program again.
When you're taking a computer science class, it's important to be able to see file extensions on all your files, and also to see hidden files on your computer. Follow these instructions to do that:
Congratulations, you already have a Unix-style terminal installed: it's called Terminal.app! However, you still have to do the next step:
When you're taking a computer science class, it's important to be able to see file extensions on all your files. Open up the Finder program, and then click on the bolded Finder menu in the upper-left corner of the screen. Select Preferences... and then click on the Advanced tab. Click on the option to show all filename extensions.
There's no hand-in for this step; you'll use your terminal in the next step.