**Course Title:** Mastering Angular: Building Scalable Web Applications **Section Title:** Introduction to Angular and Development Environment **Topic:** Setting up the Angular development environment (Node.js, Angular CLI) **Topic Overview** ---------------- In this topic, we will cover the essential steps required to set up the Angular development environment. We will delve into the installation of Node.js and the Angular CLI, and explore how to create a new Angular project. By the end of this topic, you will have a solid understanding of how to set up a development environment that is optimized for building scalable web applications with Angular. **Prerequisites** ---------------- Before proceeding with this topic, make sure you have basic knowledge of the following: * HTML and CSS * JavaScript fundamentals * Basic understanding of Node.js and npm (the package manager for Node.js) **Installing Node.js** --------------------- To get started with Angular development, you need to have Node.js installed on your system. Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine that allows developers to run JavaScript on the server-side. To install Node.js, follow these steps: 1. Go to the official Node.js website ([https://nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org)) and click on the "Download" button. 2. Select the installation package for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux) and follow the installation instructions. **Verifying Node.js Installation** ---------------------------------- To verify that Node.js is installed correctly, open a terminal or command prompt and run the following command: ```bash node -v ``` This command will print the version of Node.js installed on your system. **Installing the Angular CLI** ------------------------------ The Angular CLI is a powerful tool that helps you create, build, and maintain Angular applications. It also provides a set of tools for testing, debugging, and optimizing your applications. To install the Angular CLI, run the following command in a terminal or command prompt: ```bash npm install -g @angular/cli ``` This command installs the Angular CLI globally on your system, making it available for all projects. **Verifying Angular CLI Installation** -------------------------------------- To verify that the Angular CLI is installed correctly, open a terminal or command prompt and run the following command: ```bash ng --version ``` This command will print the version of the Angular CLI installed on your system. **Creating a New Angular Project** ---------------------------------- Now that you have Node.js and the Angular CLI installed, let's create a new Angular project. To create a new project, run the following command: ```bash ng new my-app ``` Replace `my-app` with the name of your project. Follow the prompts to configure the project settings: * Press `Y` when prompted to enable routing. * Select CSS as the stylesheet format. * Press `Enter` to create the project. **Project Structure** --------------------- Once the project is created, navigate to the project directory: ```bash cd my-app ``` The project directory contains the following files and folders: * `node_modules` - This folder contains the dependencies installed by npm. * `src` - This folder contains the application code, including the `app` component, styles, and templates. * `e2e` - This folder contains end-to-end tests for the application. * `angular.json` - This file contains the project configuration. **Key Concepts** ----------------- Here are the key concepts covered in this topic: * Node.js is a JavaScript runtime that allows developers to run JavaScript on the server-side. * The Angular CLI is a powerful tool for creating, building, and maintaining Angular applications. * The `ng new` command is used to create a new Angular project. **Practical Takeaways** ------------------------- Here are some practical takeaways from this topic: * Make sure to install Node.js and the Angular CLI on your system before starting with Angular development. * Use the `ng new` command to create a new Angular project. * Configure the project settings carefully, including routing and stylesheet formats. **Next Steps** ---------------- In the next topic, we will cover the basics of Angular architecture and concepts, including modules, components, and templates. If you have any questions or need help, please leave a comment below. What do you think about the installation process? Was it smooth or did you encounter any issues?