Getting started with C programming - Setup (Windows) -

There's 3 things you need to do: install a compiler → write some code → give the code to the compiler.

This page is for Windows. You can also check the Linux version.

Setup tools

Open command line (CMD)

You don't need to start using it, but the compiler must be started with a command line command so it's good to know the idea behind it.

Press Win+R, then type cmd into the box.

Install the compiler

You need a compiler to turn your code into a program. We'll use GCC.

On the command line, type gcc --version to test if it works, you should get some information about the GCC version. You can also just type the full path to the compiler executable, for example: "C:/Users/Sun/MinGW/bin/gcc.exe" --version.

In order to run it simply by typing gcc, you need to add the path to gcc.exe into your PATH variable. If you install GCC with an installer, it will probably do this for you.

Search "windows PATH variable" from a search engine if you want to learn more.

Make a test program

Save the code below as "main.c":

#include <stdio.h>

int main () {
	printf("Bag of biscuits\n");
	return 0;
}

Now you just need to give the code to GCC. You can do it with a command line command like gcc main.c -o testprogram, but a better way is to create a build file that will do the commands for you, so you only need to type build.

Save the below as "build.bat" into the same folder:

@ECHO OFF

rem Compile the code.
gcc main.c  -o testprogram.exe  && (
	rem If successfully compiled without errors, run the program.
	testprogram.exe
)
pause

On command line, navigate to the folder and type build, the build script will create your program and immediately runs it. Your program should print "Bag of biscuits" onto the command line. If there's errors in your code file, GCC will print a bunch of error messages.