The Dockerfile is the basis of the devcontainer and can be changed to add or remove tools. It will take a long time to build locally, so by default the devcontainer will pull a prebuilt version. Edit `.devcontainer/devcontainer.json` if you would rather build your own.
This devcontainer should work in Windows, Linux and MacOS. It is recommended to install:
- git, then configure user name and email address
- docker, or alternative like podman
- (Windows only, optional) Windows Subsystem for Linux, version 2
- Microsoft's vscode
- the "Dev Containers" extension (from Microsoft) within vscode
Make sure docker (or your alternative) is running before trying to use the devcontainer.
## Usage
Open a terminal and navigate to the directory which will contain your Spectrum projects. Run `git clone https://github.com/mcphail/speccydev.git your_project_name` and enter that directory. Start vscode by running `code .` inside the directory.
If you have installed the Dev Containers extension correctly, a popup will offer to reload the project within a devcontainer. Go ahead and allow this. The first time you use this devcontainer, it may take a few minutes to download and start. It should open more quickly on subsequent use.
Open the bottom bar in vscode to expose the terminal or select "Terminal -> New Terminal" from the menu bar. Try running some Linux commands like `ls -lh` or `date`. Build the example project by running `make` from the terminal or the VSCode extension. Experiment with editing some of the source files and running `make` again. Experiment with some of the assemblers, compilers and other tools mentioned above.
When you are ready to start your own project, run `make start_new_project` to wipe out the example code and start afresh.
*Note: to use CSpect debugging from a Linux host you will have to edit the file `.vscode/launch.json` to change the `"hostname"` parameter to `"localhost"`*
