Setting Up Development Environment Gcc Ide Complete Guide

Part 1: Setting Up GCC Compiler

Step 1: Install GCC Compiler

Windows:

1. Download MinGW:

   • Go to MinGW's SourceForge page.
   • Click on "mingw-get-setup.exe" to download the installer.

2. Install MinGW:

   • Run the downloaded installer.
   • Click "Install".
   • Select the "mingw32-base" and "mingw32-gcc-g++" packages.
   • Finish the installation.

3. Add GCC to System Path:

   • Open "Control Panel" > "System and Security" > "System" > "Advanced system settings".
   • Click on "Environment Variables".
   • In "System variables", select "Path" and click "Edit".
   • Add the path to bin folder of MinGW (e.g., C:\MinGW\bin).
   • Click "OK" to save the changes.

macOS:

1. Install Xcode Command Line Tools:

   • Open Terminal.
   • Run the command xcode-select --install.

2. Install Homebrew (optional but recommended):

   • Open Terminal.
   • Run the command /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)".
   • Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

3. Install GCC via Homebrew:

   • In Terminal, run brew install gcc.

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian-based):

1. Open Terminal.
2. Install GCC:
   • Run the command sudo apt-get update.
   • Then, install GCC with sudo apt-get install gcc g++ make.

Step 2: Verify GCC Installation

1. Open Terminal (Windows: Command Prompt, macOS/Linux: Terminal).
2. Run the command gcc --version to check if GCC is installed correctly.

You should see output similar to:

gcc (GCC) 10.2.1
Copyright (C) 2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Part 2: Setting Up Code::Blocks IDE

Step 1: Download and Install Code::Blocks

1. Download Code::Blocks:

   • Go to the Code::Blocks website.
   • Choose the appropriate installer for your operating system.

2. Install Code::Blocks:

   • Windows:
     • Run the downloaded installer.
     • Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
     • Ensure that during installation, you select the option to install GCC compiler if prompted.
   • macOS/Linux:
     • Use your package manager to install Code::Blocks.
     • For example, on Ubuntu, you can use sudo apt-get install codeblocks.

Step 2: Set Up GCC Compiler (If Not Installed During Code::Blocks Setup)

1. Open Code::Blocks.
2. Go to Settings:
   • Windows/Linux: Go to Settings > Compiler....
   • macOS: Go to Code::Blocks > Preferences > Compiler.
3. Select GNU GCC Compiler:
   • Click on GNU GCC Compiler and then Set as default.
4. Configure Compiler:
   • Click the Compiler settings tab.
   • Under Toolchain executables, click Auto-detect to identify the compiler paths.

Step 3: Create and Build a Simple Program

1. Create a New Project:

   • Go to File > New > Project....
   • Select Console application and click Go.
   • Choose a programming language (C or C++) and click Next.
   • Enter your project title and location, then click Finish.

2. Write a Simple Program:

   • In the source file, replace the existing code with the following:

     #include <stdio.h>
     
     int main() {
         printf("Hello, World!\n");
         return 0;
     }
     

3. Build and Run:

   • Click Build and Run (or press F9).
   • The program should build without errors and output "Hello, World!" in the console output.

Part 3: Setting Up Visual Studio Code (VS Code) IDE

Step 1: Install Visual Studio Code

1. Download VS Code:

   • Go to the VS Code website.
   • Click on "Mac", "Linux", or "Windows" to download the appropriate installer.

2. Install VS Code:

   • Run the downloaded installer.
   • Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Step 2: Install Necessary Extensions

1. Open VS Code.
2. Install C/C++ Extension:
   • Go to the Extensions view by clicking on the square icon on the sidebar or pressing Ctrl+Shift+X.
   • Search for "C/C++" and install the extension provided by Microsoft.

Step 3: Configure GCC Compiler

VS Code doesn't integrate with GCC directly, so we need to set up a task configuration for building and running programs.

1. Create a New Folder for Your Project:

   • Open VS Code.
   • Go to File > Open Folder and select a new or existing folder for your project.

2. Create a New C/C++ File:

   • In the Explorer panel, right-click the folder > New File.
   • Name the file hello.c (or hello.cpp for C++) and press Enter.

3. Write a Simple Program:

   • Replace the existing code with the following:

     #include <stdio.h>
     
     int main() {
         printf("Hello, World!\n");
         return 0;
     }
     

4. Configure Build Task:

   • Go to Terminal > Configure Tasks > Create tasks.json file from template > Others.

   • Replace the content of tasks.json with the following:

     {
         "version": "2.0.0",
         "tasks": [
             {
                 "label": "build hello.c",
                 "type": "shell",
                 "command": "gcc",
                 "args": [
                     "-g",
                     "hello.c",
                     "-o",
                     "hello"
                 ],
                 "group": {
                     "kind": "build",
                     "isDefault": true
                 },
                 "problemMatcher": ["$gcc"]
             }
         ]
     }
     

   • This configuration compiles hello.c into an executable named hello.

5. Configure Run Task (Optional But Recommended):

   • Go to Terminal > Configure Default Build Task > build hello.c.

   • Create a launch.json file for debugging if needed:

     {
         "version": "0.2.0",
         "configurations": [
             {
                 "name": "Debug C/C++",
                 "type": "cppdbg",
                 "request": "launch",
                 "program": "${workspaceFolder}/hello",
                 "args": [],
                 "stopAtEntry": false,
                 "cwd": "${fileDirname}",
                 "environment": [],
                 "externalConsole": true,
                 "MIMode": "gdb",
                 "miDebuggerPath": "gdb",
                 "setupCommands": [
                     {
                         "description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb",
                         "text": "-enable-pretty-printing",
                         "ignoreFailures": true
                     }
                 ],
                 "preLaunchTask": "build hello.c"
             }
         ]
     }
     

Step 4: Build and Run the Program

1. Build the Program:

   • Open a terminal in VS Code by going to Terminal > New Terminal.
   • Run the build task by typing Ctrl+Shift+B or running gcc -g hello.c -o hello manually in the terminal.

2. Run the Program:

   • Run the executable by typing ./hello in the terminal.
   • Alternatively, you can press F5 to start debugging, which will build and run the program.

Summary

Setting up a development environment for C/C++ involves installing the GCC compiler and choosing an IDE to write and compile your code. We covered two popular IDEs: Code::Blocks, which has built-in support for GCC, and Visual Studio Code, which requires a bit more setup but is highly flexible and powerful.

• GCC Setup: Install GCC using MinGW on Windows, Homebrew on macOS, or package managers on Linux.
• Code::Blocks Setup: Install Code::Blocks, configure GCC, and create and run a simple program.
• VS Code Setup: Install VS Code, configure tasks.json for building, and optionally configure launch.json for debugging.