LBSC 690: Introduction to Information Technology

Assignment 0

This assignment is not worth points. It just lays the groundwork for later assignments. It is however, critically important that you complete this assignment; otherwise, you'll have problems later.

  1. Subscribe and create an account on Piazza. Write a post introducing yourself. I'd also suggest adding a picture of yourself to the account, as it helps everybody get to know each other.
  2. Download and install the following programs to your computer:
    1. WinSCP or Fetch
    2. Chrome
    3. (Windows only, not needed on OS X or Linux) Putty
  3. Use Putty or Terminal to connect to terpconnect
    • In Putty, create a new session connecting to the host "terpconnect.umd.edu" using the "SSH" protocol. When prompted, enter your Terpconnect password.
    • In Terminal, start an ssh session by typing "ssh USERNAME@terpconnect.umd.edu". When prompted, enter your Terpconnect password.
    • Once connected, enter the commands as shown below.
  4. Type the following: 
          ln -s ../pub public_html
      wget http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~ying/LBSC_690/books.db

      ls -l public_html books.db > public_html/I_DID_IT.txt
    This will create a new folder for your webpages, download a databse we'll use for a later assignment, and create a file that will verify that you did everything.

To submit your assignment, send an e-mail to jbg@umiacs.umd.edu with the subject starting with [LBSC690 Assignment0]. In the e-mail, just send a quick e-mail saying that you sucessfully did each of the above steps and a link to your file: 

http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~YOURUSERNAME/I_DID_IT.txt

This is not graded, and you can and should get as much help as you need. The goal is to make sure any technical kinks get worked out before, say, you have an assignment due. So ask plenty of questions on Piazza, come to office hours, whatever!