The 2021 Research Computing Boot Camp sessions will be offered remotely over Zoom. In order to fully participate in the hands-on tutorial sessions, students will want to install certain software packages in advance. In some cases, this will vary based on the operating system your machine is running; we will focus on Windows and Mac.

Installing MATLAB

Prior to the tutorial, please download and install MATLAB. License details are available. Detailed installation instructions are also available.

Installing R and RStudio (free)

All of the R tutorials will be using Rstudio as a graphical interface to the R programming language. Please install R and Rstudio in the following order:

R: https://cran.r-project.org/

Rstudio: https://rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/ (select Rstudio Desktop free version)

Installing Python (free)

Prior to the tutorial, please download and install the Anaconda distribution of Python. Choose the 64-bit download from the Python 3.8 options. This will install Python, numerous libraries, and the Spyder and Jupyter development environments that will be used in the Python tutorials. If you have previously installed Anaconda follow their instructions to update your software.

Installing Mathematica

Prior to the programming workshop, please download and install Mathematica.

ArcGIS Online Account Creation (free)

For those who register for “Continuing with ArcGIS Online (NEED ACCOUNT)“, your information will be forwarded to CAS IT who manages BU’s ArcGIS Online accounts. They will create an account for you before the tutorial. When your account is created, you will receive an email that looks similar to the one below:

Please note that in the e-mail it will specify the username assigned to you, typically with “_bucas” appended to the end. Click on the link to finish the account creation process. You will need to create a password and also create a security question. Then you will need to read and accept some terms and conditions for using BU’s ArcGIS Online service. The registration is complete once you get to your profile setup page, similar to the one below:

You have now completed your registration. To test your login credential, click on your name in the top right, and click on “Sign Out”.

This should bring you back to the log in screen. Type in your username and password and click on sign-in. Remember, the username you will use was sent to you via e-mail.

If you have questions regarding the creation of the ArcGIS Online account for the tutorial, please email the instructor, Dennis Milechin, at milechin@bu.edu.