🌐 Creating Interactives Earthquake Map - Myanmar/Thailand Region with Cline on Visual Studio Code: Installation of Google Gemini Pro 2.5 & Best Practices

 

🌐 Creating Interactives with Cline on Visual Studio Code: Installation of Google Gemini Pro 2.5 & Best Practices

🔧 What is Cline?

Cline is an AI-powered task assistant extension for Visual Studio Code that acts like a coding co-pilot, helping you build projects, compress files, debug code, and even write content — all within your development environment. It’s especially powerful when working on multi-file projects like HTML/CSS/JavaScript-based interactives.

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🛠️ Installing Cline in Visual Studio Code

Here's a step-by-step guide to getting Cline up and running:

✅ Step 1: Install Cline from the VS Code Marketplace

1. Launch Visual Studio Code.

2. Go to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X).

3. Search for Cline.

4. Click Install.

✅ Step 2: Sign in to Enable Full Features

Once installed, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your Google API account. This enables advanced features like API requests, task management, and AI-generated code execution.

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💡 Best Practices for Using Cline Effectively

📁 1. Open the Folder as a Workspace

🟠 Warning: “No workspace detected” is a common issue.
To unlock the full potential of Cline (like Checkpoints, File Context Awareness, etc.), open your project folder (e.g., earthquake-map) as a workspace.

• Go to File → Open Folder...

• Select the root folder of your project.

• This enables Cline to understand file structure and dependencies.

🧠 2. Use Descriptive Task Prompts

Rather than vague prompts, be specific:

bash
create an interactive to allow exploration of the recent earthquake [Myanmar and Thailand Earthquake]

This allows Cline to:

• Generate a valid structure (index.html, style.css, script.js)

• Suggest appropriate UI layout

• Offer data visualization techniques (like LeafletJS or Chart.js)

🗜️ 3. Use the Shell Safely

Cline allows you to run commands like compressing files directly:

bash
tar -a -c -f earthquake-map.zip earthquake-map

📌 This zips the entire project for easy sharing or deployment.

⚠️ Note: If using PowerShell, you might see a screen reader warning. This doesn’t affect Cline’s functionality but can be fixed by running:

powershell
Import-Module PSReadLine

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📦 Example: Creating and Zipping an Earthquake Interactive

In the screenshot example, the project earthquake-map includes:

• index.html

• style.css

• script.js

With Cline, the process to zip the project was:

bash
tar -a -c -f earthquake-map.zip earthquake-map

✅ Output: A earthquake-map.zip archive appeared on the Desktop (C:\Users\weelo\Desktop), ready for upload to a server or LMS.

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🧩 Recommended Project Structure for Interactives

bash
earthquake-map/
├── index.html       # Entry point
├── style.css        # UI styling
├── script.js        # JavaScript interactivity (e.g., maps, sliders)
├── data.json        # Optional: Earthquake data

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🚀 Pro Tips

• Use markdown-style prompts inside Cline (like in your VS Code sidebar) to maintain clarity and consistency.

• If working with maps, consider integrating LeafletJS and use fetch() in script.js to dynamically load data.

• Regularly commit checkpoints so you can revert if needed.

• Use the built-in zip command to bundle and deploy your simulations easily.

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🧠 Final Thoughts

Cline empowers educators and developers to move from concept to working interactive quickly and with precision. When paired with good practices in VS Code like setting up a proper workspace and giving detailed instructions, the results are professional, polished, and ready to engage learners — just like the earthquake map example.

earthquake-map.zip

earthquake-map/