modern web development

Setting Up Your Development Environment

A proper development environment is crucial for efficient web development. In this chapter, we'll set up everything you need to start building modern web applications.

Essential Tools

1. Code Editor - Visual Studio Code

VS Code is the most popular code editor for web development. We'll install it and configure essential extensions:

  • ESLint for code linting
  • Prettier for code formatting
  • GitLens for better Git integration
  • JavaScript and TypeScript support

2. Node.js and npm

Node.js is the runtime that powers modern web development:

# Check if Node.js is installed
node --version

# Check npm version
npm --version

3. Version Control - Git

Git is essential for code versioning and collaboration:

# Check Git installation
git --version

# Configure Git
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

Project Setup

Creating a New Next.js Project

# Create a new Next.js project with TypeScript
npx create-next-app@latest my-app --typescript --tailwind --eslint

Project Structure

A typical Next.js project structure:

my-app/
├── app/
├── components/
├── public/
├── styles/
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json

Development Workflow

  1. Start the development server
  2. Make changes to your code
  3. See real-time updates in the browser
  4. Commit changes to Git

Best Practices

  • Use consistent code formatting
  • Follow Git commit conventions
  • Keep dependencies up to date
  • Use TypeScript for type safety
  • Implement proper error handling

In the next chapter, we'll dive into modern JavaScript and TypeScript fundamentals.