CP C++

C++: Running Code & Tools

Compiling C++

C++ is a compiled language. You need a compiler to translate source code into an executable.

g++ my_program.cpp -o my_program          # compile with GCC (Linux, MinGW)
g++ -std=c++17 my_program.cpp -o my_program  # specify C++ standard
clang++ my_program.cpp -o my_program      # compile with Clang (macOS)

Running

./my_program          # Linux / macOS
my_program.exe        # Windows

Editors / IDEs

  • VS Code — install the C/C++ extension pack by Microsoft (includes IntelliSense, debugging, code navigation)
  • CLion — JetBrains IDE for C/C++ (paid, but full-featured)
  • Visual Studio — Windows IDE with MSVC compiler, debugger, and profiler (free Community edition)
  • Qt Creator — lightweight IDE for Qt-based projects

Build systems

For anything beyond one-file programs, use a build system:

cmake -B build && cmake --build build    # CMake (cross-platform, most common)
make                                       # Makefile (Unix)

CMake is the de-facto standard. It generates build files for your platform (Makefiles, Visual Studio solutions, etc.) from a CMakeLists.txt.

Package managers

  • vcpkg — Microsoft's C++ package manager
  • Conan — cross-platform C/C++ package manager
vcpkg install fmt              # install the fmt library
conan install . --build=missing # Conan install

Debugging

  • GDB (command line) — the GNU debugger
  • LLDB (command line) — debugger for Clang
  • VS Code or Visual Studio — GUI debugging with breakpoints, watches, and variable inspection

Quick check below!

All C++ lessons