The C++ development environment consists of:
- A text editor to write C++ code
- A compiler to convert code into an executable
- Tools to run and debug the executable
Editors
Popular editors for C++ include:
- Visual Studio Code - Free, open-source, extensions available
- Xcode (Mac only)
- CLion - Paid
Compilers
The most common C++ compilers are:
- g++ (Linux & Mac)
- MinGW (Windows)
- Visual C++ (Windows)
Compilers convert C++ source code into machine code the computer can run.
To compile with g++ on command line:
g++ myProgram.cpp -o myProgram
NOTE
The
-oflag names the output executable file.
Local IDE
An integrated development environment (IDE) is software for building applications that combines common developer tools into a single graphical user interface (GUI).
IDE is a software that allows you to create, edit, run, test & debug your code from a single GUI.
To run a C++ on our machine, we need
- Text editor
- C++ compiler
- Command line/ Terminal to invoke the computer
Absolute vs Relative Paths
Absolute path specifies the full location of a file or folder from the root of the file system. For example:
/User/name/Documents/program.cpp
A relative path specifies the location relative to the current working directory. For example, if you are already in the Documents folder:
program.cpp
Using the correct path is important when accessing files from terminals or code.