Atom is a free, open-source editor. Just like GitHub Desktop, Atom is built on Electron, making it work on Mac or Windows PC. Atom is extensible, meaning you can add your own features to it.
You can take a look at what the Atom team at GitHub is working on by visiting the repository; https://github.com/atom/atom.
Atom is a lightweight editor that shouldn’t take long to install. To install Atom, go to https://atom.io and click Download.
Just like with GitHub Desktop in the previous section, when Atom finishes downloading, click to unzip the file. On Mac, the Atom application appears in your Downloads folder. Drag the Atom application into your applications folder. On Windows or Mac, double-click the application to open it. When you do, you should see what is shown in Figure 2-8.
You may get an alert that you’re trying to open an application that was downloaded from the Internet. Click Open if this alert appears.
Here are a few things that you should know about Atom:
» Updates: Each time you start Atom, make sure you check the bottom- right corner to see whether any updates need to happen so that you keep your software as current as possible. When you click the Update link, the Settings tab opens, and the packages appear on the screen. In Figure 2-9, you can see that I had previously installed the package teletype, which requires an update. After clicking Update to 0.13.3 or Update All if I have multiple packages that need updating, we restart Atom.
You can click the Squirrel icon to go to the Atom About page to ensure that your Atom editor is also kept up-to-date.
» Git and GitHub tabs: At the bottom, right, next to where the updates are, you can easily open the Git and GitHub tabs by choosing Packages o GitHub o Toggle Git/GitHub Tab.
You may notice that some menu items throughout Atom have keyboard bindings, such as the Git and GitHub tabs in Figure 2-10. Keyboard bindings are combinations of keys you can press on your keyboard to make something happen in a specific application. You probably already know some of these. For example, when you’re browsing the Internet, you can type ⌘-T on a Mac or Ctrl+T on Windows to open a new tab. Finding ways to become more efficient in your coding, such as by using keyboard bindings, can be an effective strategy for you as you become more expert in your coding journey.
» Preferences: You can specify a lot of preferences for Atom. I don’t explain each one in this book, but I encourage you to browse them and really set up Atom to make it exactly right for you. You can find the preferences by choosing Atom ➪ Preferences (see Figure 2-11).
» Packages: You can install more than 8,000 Atom packages to make Atom most effective for you. You can find them under preferences or at https:// atom.io/packages. Going through each of these packages is beyond the scope of this book, but I encourage you to explore some and search them if you’re ever feeling limited by your Atom experience.
If you’re looking for resources outside of this book, check out the Atom documentation at https://atom.io/docs and the Atom Flight Manual at https://flight- manual.atom.io. Both of these resources can help guide you through any problem you may encounter. If they don’t, you can reach out to the developers who work on Atom by visiting the open source repository at https://github.com/atom/atom.
Source: Guthals Sarah, Haack Phil (2019), GitHub for Dummies, Wiley.