Step 3: Download Prerequisites

Okay, let's be honest: this lab is going to be pretty heavy on your internet connection for the next twenty minutes. In the steps below, you're going to download a lot of useful and importnat tooling, including the VSCode IDE, node.js and Docker.

Since these prerequisites are so machine-dependent, if you run into technical difficulties, you may not be able to install all of them during this workshop. Don't worry! This workshop will remain online for you to finish afterward, and a recording will be posted on CrowdCast.

Prerequisities:

• Visual Studio Code v1.39

  • VSCode also requires a number of other prerequisites including Docker, Node.js, NPM and JDK. We'll install these later.

• IBM Blockchain Platform Extension

• Docker

Step 3a: Install Visual Studio Code

While the latest and greatest version of VSCode may seem like a no-brainer, unfortunately there is an incompatibility that causes node modules to not be compiled correctly in the blockchain extension we'll be using. For this reason, we'll be using a specific version.

Download here: https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_39

Once you have downloaded VSCode, install the file according to your operating system's instructions. For MacOS, you simply need to open the archive and drag the icon to your Applications folder.

Can't run the application due to security restrictions? Instructions on how to make VSCode run successfully on Mac OS X can be found in this apple support ticket.

Step 3b: Install the IBM Blockchain Extension

Next, we'll install the IBM Blockchain Extension into our VSCode environment. To install extensions, find this icon in the left side of your VSCode environment (this visual menu is called your Activity Bar:)

A dialog will pop up to the right of the Activity Bar, with a Search box:

Enter IBM Blockchain into the search bar and click the green Install button on the first result, IBM Blockchain Platform.

The extension will take a few seconds to install:

Step 3c: Install Docker

If you already have Docker installed correctly, congratulations, you can skip to step 3!

If you don't have Docker installed, the steps are fairly simple:

• Mac and Windows users can download and install Docker Desktop

• Linux users can follow Docker's instructions here

Conclusion

Congratulations, you've made it to the end of Step 3! In Step 4, we'll go through a blockchain application workshop.