The CS 3110 VM

You can download the CS 3110 VM from Cornell Box. Installation and usage instructions can be found in the 3110 textbook. Here is how we created the VM:

1. Download and install VirtualBox, and download Ubuntu 22.04 Desktop.

   • Create a new VM in VirtualBox. Name it cs3110vm-2024sp-ubuntu, replacing 2024sp with the current semester. Skip the unattended install. Use 2048 MB RAM, 1 CPU, and a 64 GB dynamically-sized hard drive. We deliberately keep the hardware requirements minimal for students who have lower-end hardware. But the drive needs to have room to grow for projects later in the semester.

   • Install Ubuntu. Choose the minimal install (i.e., fewer apps). Choose to download updates during the install. Make your name "OCaml Programmer", the computer name "cs3110vm", and the username and password both "camel", and choose "log in automatically".

   • After installation and rebooting, you'll be asked to enable a bunch of features such as online accounts, Ubuntu Pro, and developer error reporting. Don't enable them, since students should make those choices themselves.

   • Soon after rebooting, Software Updater will want to install updates. Let it. Then reboot again.

2. Open Terminal. Right-click and add it to favorites. Run

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt upgrade
   sudo apt install build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r) vim emacs
   

3. In VirtualBox, go to Devices -> "Insert Guest Editions CD Image". Then in Terminal run

   sudo /media/camel/VBox_GAs_7.0.12/VBoxLinuxAdditions.run
   

   Reboot the virtual machine. Eject the CD image. Enable Devices->Shared Clipboard->Bidirectional.

4. To install and initialize OPAM, run

   sudo apt install pkg-config opam
   opam init --bare -a -y
   

   Then follow the install instructions in the CS 3110 textbook to create an OPAM switch and install required packages for the current semester. Logout (or reboot) to get the .profile changes working in all new shells.

5. Use the Ubuntu Software installer to install Visual Studio Code. (Update any other software it wants to at the same time.) Then launch VSC and add it to favorites. Copy-paste vsc_settings.json into user settings. Install the "OCaml Platform" extension. Create a ~/3110 folder and test that OCaml language support is working. Make sure not to leave any files or folders open when you close it, otherwise they will be opened in the distributed VM.

6. Download the (free) caravan wallpaper.

   cd ~/Pictures
   wget https://wonderfulengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/eqypt-wallpaper-12.jpg
   

   Set it as the desktop background. It is also cached locally here in this repo at caravan.jpg.

7. Run sudo usermod -a -G vboxsf camel to give the account access to shared folders. Create a shared folder to test they are working, then delete it and any others that might exist. The instructions to create shared folders are in the textbook appendix. Note that shutting down the VM really does seem to be necessary when modifying these settings.

8. Delete .utop-history and finally delete .bash_history.

9. If you've resized the window, resize it back so that it's fairly small, otherwise when students bring it up on their own small monitor it might not fit. The size of the VirtualBox boot window is good.

10. Shutdown the machine. Double check the VM settings in VirtualBox to solve any invalid configuration issues. Make sure the display scale factor is 100%, especially if you have a Retina display.

11. Export the appliance.