3.1 Julia setup guide

Installation Guide

Step 1. Install/Update Julia binary

For Linux/Mac users, the easiest way to install Julia language is to open a terminal and type the following command to install Julia with juliaup

curl -fsSL https://install.julialang.org | sh

If you are suffering from the slow download speed. An alternative approach is downloading the corresponding Julia binary from the tuna mirror website. After installing the binary, please set the Julia binary path properly if you want to start the Julia REPL by typing julia a bash shell. To add Julia's bin folder (with full path) to PATH environment variable, you can edit the ~/.bashrc (or ~/.bash_profile) file. Open the file in your favourite editor and add a new line as follows:

export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/<Julia directory>/bin"

Please check this official setup guide to learn more.

Step 2. Configure the package source and Revise in the startup file

First create a new file .julia/config/startup.jl with the following content

ENV["JULIA_PKG_SERVER"] = "http://cn-southeast.pkg.juliacn.com"
try
    using Revise
catch e
    @warn "fail to load Revise."
end

The contents in the startup file is executed immediately after you open a new Julia session.

Then you need to install Revise, which is an Julia package that can greatly improve the using experience of Julia. To install Revise, open Julia REPL and type

julia> using Pkg; Pkg.add("Revise")

To exit Julia REPL, just press CTRL-D.

As a final step, please check your Julia configuration by openning a Julia REPL and type

julia> versioninfo()
Julia Version 1.8.2
Commit 36034abf260 (2022-09-29 15:21 UTC)
Platform Info:
  OS: Linux (x86_64-linux-gnu)
  CPU: 8 × Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10510U CPU @ 1.80GHz
  WORD_SIZE: 64
  LIBM: libopenlibm
  LLVM: libLLVM-13.0.1 (ORCJIT, skylake)
  Threads: 1 on 8 virtual cores
Environment:
  LD_LIBRARY_PATH = /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-3.0/modules:
  JULIA_PKG_SERVER = http://cn-southeast.pkg.juliacn.com

Please make sure your JULIA_PKG_SERVER is set properly.

Step 3. Download an editor: VSCode

Install VSCode by downloading the correct binary for your platform from here. Open VSCode and open the Extensions tab on the left side-bar of the window, search Julia and install the Julia extension.

You are ready to go, cheers!

An introduction to the Julia REPL

A Julia REPL has four modes,

1. Julian mode is the default mode that can interpret your Julia code.

2. Shell mode is the mode that you can run shell commands. Press ; in the Julian mode and type

shell> date
Sun Nov  6 10:50:21 PM CST 2022

To return to the Julian mode, type the Backspace key.

3. Package mode is the mode that you can manage packages. Press ] in the Julian mode and type

(@v1.8) pkg> st
Status `~/.julia/environments/v1.8/Project.toml`
  [295af30f] Revise v3.4.0

To return to the Julian mode, type the Backspace key.

4. Help mode is the mode that you can access the docstrings of functions. Press ? in the Julian mode and type

help> sum
... docstring for sum ...

To return to the Julian mode, type the Backspace key.

Learn more from the official documentation about Julia REPL.

Using Pluto notebooks

To open a pluto notebook, you should have Pluto package installed in your global environment by typing in the Pkg mode

pkg> add Pluto

Copy-pasting the following command to the end of your ~/.bashrc file enables you to open a pluto notebook from a Linux shell.

alias pluto='julia -e "using Pluto
if length(ARGS) > 0
    notebook = ARGS[1]
    Pluto.run(notebook=joinpath(pwd(), notebook))
else
    Pluto.run()
end"'

To open a Pluto notebook in your browser, please open a new shell and type pluto path/to/pluto/file. If the path is not provided, the command will open a the Pluto start up page in your browser.