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For coders/developers 🔗

Updated August 3, 2025

Applications 🔗

These applications have been installed for you:

  • IntelliJ IDEA or IntelliJ IDEA CE — Ideal for Java development. If you would prefer to use a different IDE, please contact IT.
  • Github Desktop — You can use the git command as well.
  • Github CLI — A Github command line interface, gh.
  • openJDK — Open Java Development Kit is a free and open-source implementation of the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE).
  • g++ (2) and Xcode command line tools (1).

  1. Xcode Command Line Tools are a collection of essential development tools provided by Apple for macOS. These tools are primarily used for command-line software development and are a subset of the larger Xcode integrated development environment (IDE).

    Purpose:

    They provide the necessary compilers (like Clang/LLVM), debuggers (like LLDB), and other utilities required for building, debugging, and managing software projects from the terminal. This includes tools for C, C++, Objective-C, Swift, and various scripting languages.

    Installation:

    They can be installed independently of the full Xcode application, offering a much smaller download size. The most common installation method is through the terminal using xcode-select --install. They are also often installed as a dependency when installing package managers like Homebrew.

    Included Tools:

    The package includes a wide range of utilities located in /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/usr/bin/, such as git, make, gcc (or its alias to Clang), clang, lldb, python, ruby, and many others.

    Necessity for Development:

    While the full Xcode IDE is essential for developing applications for Apple’s platforms (iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, macOS with GUI), the Command Line Tools are crucial for general-purpose software development, especially for projects that don’t require the full IDE or are built using command-line tools and scripts. They are widely used by web developers, open-source contributors, and anyone working with Unix-like tools on macOS.

  2. G++ is the C++ frontend for the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC). It is essentially the command-line interface used to compile C++ source code within the GCC framework. While GCC is a comprehensive suite of compilers supporting various programming languages (including C, Fortran, Go, and Ada), g++ specifically targets C++ compilation.

    When you use the g++ command, it handles the entire compilation process for C++ code, which typically involves:

    • Preprocessing: Handling directives like #include and #define.
    • Compilation: Translating C++ code into assembly language.
    • Assembly: Converting assembly code into machine code (object files).
    • Linking: Combining object files and libraries to create an executable program.

    g++ provides numerous options to control different stages of this process, optimize code, specify language standards (e.g., C++11, C++17, C++20), and link with external libraries. It is widely used as the de facto standard C++ compiler on Linux and other Unix-like systems.

It’s possible other applications have been installed.

Fonts for coding 🔗

There are fonts suited for code installed already on this computer, please feel free to check which one fits you best. Here are a few examples:

If you would like supplemental fonts installed, please contact the IT Manager.