Introduction to Computational Communication

1. Landing 🛬

1.1 Sharpen your tools 🧰

Welcome! This class will teach you about different tools and languages used to create software and websites. Don’t worry if you’ve never coded before – you don’t need any prior experience! We’ll take it slow and learn together, looking at examples line by line.

In Mandarin, we have a saying “工欲善其事，必先利其器” literally, “If a workman wishes to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools.”

There are two main ways we’ll install software in this class.

Using Installer Files: Some software comes in simple packages you can double-click, like .pkg files for macOS or .exe files for Windows.
Using the Command Line: Other software needs to be installed using a tool called the Terminal (on macOS) or Command Prompt (cmd) or PowerShell (on Windows).

GitHub

Use your university .edu email and register GitHub Student Developer Pack
Download GitHub Desktop

Python

Install Python Environment
Install one of Python IDE (Integrated development environment)
- VS Code from Microsoft
- PyCharm (Recommended) Remb to scroll down to get the PyCharm Community Edition; the top one is NOT FREE.

R Project for Statistical Computing

Install R Environment
R IDE RStudio

JavaScripts Environment

OMG, there is more?!?!

Node.js is an environment that allows you to build a dynamic website, and npm is the Node Package Manager, which allows you to download programs or modules someone already built. Save your time.

Install Node.js and npm

1.2 Why this many tools?

import { Card } from ‘@astrojs/starlight/components’;

import { CardGrid } from ‘@astrojs/starlight/components’;

Rich ecosystem of plugins and libraries.

Web Scraping, using API

Natural Language Processing NLP

Machine Learning

Automation

Statistical analysis

Process huge amounts of data without crash

BEST data visualization ggplot2

Your Academic publication friend

1.3 Create your own journal website for this class

import { Tabs, TabItem } from ‘@astrojs/starlight/components’;

1. Install Git

Open Terminal Install brew

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Install Git

brew install git

If you have Windows 11, Open PowerShell

` winget install --id Git.Git -e --source winget `

2. Install Quartz4

In your Terminal or PowerShell, enter the commands line by line

git clone https://github.com/jackyzha0/quartz.git
cd quartz
npm i
npx quartz create

3. Create a new repository on GitHub.com

Make sure you login on your GitHub Desktop App. Click GitHub - Install Command Line Tool

Copy your url

git remote -v
git remote set-url origin THE_URL_OF_YOUR_GIT
npx quartz sync --no-pull

Walla, now you have a website update in real time.

1.4 Learn Markdown within 10 minutes

https://learnxinyminutes.com/markdown

1.5 Why create your Website

Document your learning process
Codes to reuse
Personal Knowledge Vault

https://base.sznm.dev/

Why I Made My Own Personal Documentation Site?

2. Take off 🛫

import { Checkbox } from ‘free-astro-components’

Installed the tools