Class 1B: Data Science Tech Stack#
Announcements#
Course (and Test) Schedule is now released
Still considering what to do with Bonus Tests (stay tuned!)
Labs will begin next week!
There is a recorded video that walks you through the Tech Stack
Please use Ed Discussion to ask questions about any tech support issues you face!
Thank you to to those that are asking and helping others!
Logistics#
During class we will go through some logistics, and then learn about Markdown to help you get setup for Lab 1 (all the programs and software we will be installing).
Introduction to Markdown#
What is Markdown?#
Markdown allows you to write documents in plain text, that are then “rendered” (or displayed) with some very rudimentary formatting.
The overriding design goal for Markdown’s formatting syntax is to make it as readable as possible. The idea is that a Markdown-formatted document should be publishable as-is, as plain text, without looking like it’s been marked up with tags or formatting instructions.”
– John Gruber, original author of Markdown
Key Features of Markdown#
Basic Features#
These features exist in all flavours of Markdown:
Heading
Bold
Italic
Blockquote
Ordered List
Unordered List
Code
Horizontal Rule
Link
Image
Extended Features#
These features exist in most flavours of Markdown:
Table
Fenced Code Block
Footnote
Heading ID
Definition List
Strikethrough
Task List
Emoji
Highlight
Subscript
Superscript
Why use Markdown?#
Fast!
Low-barrier to start!
Operating system independent!
The text is readable, even as plain text!
Industry standard - everyone uses Markdown!
No need for proprietary file formats!
It’s free!
CommonMark Tutorial (Activity)#
There’s a wonderful Markdown tutorial that was shown to me recently, so let’s go through it together:
Key Limitations of Markdown#
Static not Dynamic! There are some extensions that make Markdown more extendable, but that’s outside the scope of this course.
Cannot resize images!
Cannot have fine—grained control over many things (bullet type, spacing, tables, etc..)
Pro Tips to using Markdown#
Important
We will be using Markdown a LOT in this course! It is worth your time to go through the tutorial and learn it all at the beginning.
You should also make liberal use of the Markdown Cheat Sheet.
Finally, remember to use the Visual Studio Code Markdown Preview to see how your Markdown renders!
Reminder: Learning Log 1#
Learning Log 1 will be available to you after the last class of the week is over.
Important
That’s it, see you next week! Remember to continue working on the “Setup” of your machines and visit the labs next week to get extra help!