3/28/2014
How to Compile a C/C++ Program on Ubuntu Linux: 15 Steps
How to Compile a C/C++ Program on
Ubuntu Linux
This article will show you how to compile a C/C++ program on Ubuntu Linux
using the GNU gcc/g++ compiler. Additions were made in order to simplify and
clarify the creation of a C/C++ program on Ubuntu Linux. Hopefully this article
will serve as a guide and tutorial to compiling GNU C/C++ programs on Ubuntu
Linux.
Steps
1
Open up a terminal on Ubuntu Linux and install the build-essential package
by typing the following command in the terminal
Type/Copy/Paste: sudo apt-get install build-essential
This will install the necessary C/C++ development libraries for your Ubuntu Linux
system to create C/C++ programs.
2
Create a directory and a sub directory to hold your C/C++ programs and your
main HelloWorld program.
Type/Copy/Paste: mkdir -p CCPP/HelloWorld
We are using CCPP for the main directory to hold our created C/C++ programs
which stands for C and C+ + programs directory and we are using the sub
directory HelloWorld to hold our main program.
3
Then we will change into our created directory by issuing the following
command
Type/Copy/Paste: cd CCPP/HelloWorld
4
Next we will use a text editor such as gedit or nano to create our C or C++
5
For example for a C source code file we would issue the following command
source code using the following command.
Type/Copy/Paste: gedit main.c
or
Type/Copy/Paste: nano main.c
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How to Compile a C/C++ Program on Ubuntu Linux: 15 Steps
6
Enter the following C source code below:
Type/Copy/Paste:
#include<stdio.h>
#include<stdlib.h>
int main()
{
printf("\nHello World,\nWelcome to my first C program in Ubuntu Linux\n\n");
return(0);
}
7
Save the file as main.c and exit
8
For example for a C++ source code file we issue the following command
Type/Copy/Paste: gedit main.cpp
or
Type/Copy/Paste: nano main.cpp
9
Add the following lines below to create your C++ source code:
Type/Copy/Paste:
#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
cout<<"\nHello World,\nWelcome to my first C ++ program on Ubuntu Linux\n\n"
<<endl;
return(0);
}
10
Save the file as main.cpp and exit
11
Compiling your C/C++ program
Important: Make sure you are in the CCPP/HelloWorld directory before you
compile your C/C++ programs.
12
If you are compiling the C program version of Hello World type in the
terminal
Type/Copy/Paste: gcc -Wall -W -Werror main.c -o HelloWorldC
The first line will invoke the GNU C compiler to compile the file main.c and output (o) it to an executable called HelloWorldC.
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The options -Wall -W and -Werror instruct the compiler to check for warnings.
13
If you are compiling the C++ program version of Hello World type in the
terminal
Type/Copy/Paste: g++ -Wall -W -Werror main.cpp -o HelloWorldCPP
14
If you should happen to get permission errors, you need to make the file
executable. You can do this by issuing the following commands below
Type/Copy/Paste: chmod +x HelloWorldC
or
Type/Copy/Paste: chmod +x HelloWorldCPP
15
In order to execute your program you will have to type in the following
commands.
To execute the C program version of the program:
Type/Copy/Paste: ./HelloWorldC
To execute the the C++ program version of the program:
Type/Copy/Paste: ./HelloWorldCPP
Add your own method
Name your method
Add your steps using an ordered list. For example:
1. Step one
2. Step two
3. Step three
Save
Warnings
If you don't use the -o option the name of the executable will be a.out
(by default).
Article Info
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How to Compile a C/C++ Program on Ubuntu Linux: 15 Steps
Categories: Ubuntu
Recent edits by: KamiDesu, Entricular, BR
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 77,174 times.
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