Preparing a macOS machine for the Labs

This document provides the steps for installing the software required to begin the exercises on a Mac computer. The sequence is as follows:

  1. Install curl
  2. Install the IBM Cloud Developer Tools
  3. Install Java 1.8
  4. Create JAVA_HOME environment variable
  5. Install Gradle
  6. Install node.js

Step 1: Install curl

  1. In your browser, go to http://macappstore.org/curl/. Follow the installation instructions on the web site.
  2. Verify curl is installed by typing the following into a terminal window: curl http://www.google.com
  3. Verify that the response is the HTML for the Google page.
    NOTE: If the response is The document has moved, then curl was successfully installed, but the url is not correct. According to your geography, you need to change the extension.
  4. If you do not have curl installed, you can get it from the Mac App Store (http://macappstore.org/curl), or you can find various version binaries and source code at https://curl.haxx.se/download.html.

Step 2: Install the IBM Cloud Developer Tools

  1. Follow the instructions at Getting started with the IBM Cloud CLI to install the IBM Cloud Developer Tools.

Step 3: Install Java JDK 1.8

  1. In a browser, open https://www.oracle.com
  2. In the list of menu options, click Downloads and Trials.
  3. Click Java for Developers.
  4. In the list, look for the newest version that starts with Java SE 8. At the time of writing, the newest version was Java SE 8u171. In that section, click the DOWNLOAD button under JDK (Note: your minor version may be different)
  5. In the section that lists installation files for the various operating systems, click the Accept License Agreement radio button at the top.
  6. Select the Mac OS X x64 file (jdk-8u171-macosx-x64.dmg or newer).
  7. Double-click the downloaded file to open it.
  8. Double-click the package to unpack it. Follow the default installation instructions.
  9. Verify that the installation was successful by typing
    java in a terminal window. You should see a list of usage options.

Step 4: Create JAVA_HOME environment variable

  1. Open bash_profile in an editor:
    $ vi ~/.bash_profile
  2. Add the following line to the bottom of the file:
    export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home)
  3. Save and close the file.
  4. In the terminal window, type
    $ source ~/.bash_profile
  5. Verify that it is set correctly by typing
    $ echo $JAVA_HOME
    You should see the full path to the jdk.
  6. Verify that your installation of Java is recognized. Type:
    java –version
    You should see information about the java version, the runtime environment, and Java HotSpot.

Step 5: Install Gradle

  1. Type ` brew install gradle`

Step 6: Install node.js

  1. Type
    brew install node
  2. Verify the installation:
    node -v
    The response is the version number (for example, v4.2.6).
  3. Type
    npm -v
    Again, the response is the version number.