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Setup

For CSC220 and for compiling C & C++ in CSC240 you will need a UNIX-style terminal. Directions for getting started on the following 4 development environments are listed here (keep in mind that you only need one!):

  • Linux on a virtual machine (VM)
  • Windows Subsystem for Linux (Windows 10)
  • Cygwin on Windows
  • MacOS
  • Linux

I created some videos to demonstrate how to compile under Linux or any other UNIX-like terminal. Keep in mind that depending on the specific terminal you use, some things may be slightly different, but the overall procedure is the same.

At the end of this page are more specific directions for editing, compiling, and running C code on the classroom VMs, but the steps are similar on any of the below. Once you have your environment set up and know which directories to get to then there isn't much difference between working on any of the system.s

No matter what environment you use, make sure you install gcc, g++, make, and (for CSC220) gdb. You may have to choose those separately during Cygwin or Linux installation. If you forget, you can always install them later - consult the documentation for your system. You will also need an editor. For Cygwin, Linux on Windows 10, or MacOS you can use whatever editor you prefer (Vim, Notepad++, Visual Studio Code, etc.). On Linux I recommend Gedit or Vim.

I will be using all 4 of the environments listed above to compile and I use Vim as my editor.

Installing Linux on a virtual machine

Windows - Windows Subsystem for Linux

You can install several different Linux distributions in the Microsoft Store. If you go this route I sugguest Ubuntu, though any distribution should work.

Installing Ubuntu on Windows:

  • VIDEO: Installing Ubuntu on Windows 10 (5:03) (including activating the Windows Subsystem for Linux and compiling & running a C program). To simulate one likely scenario, I forgot to activiate the WSL first before installing Ubuntu. If you want to do things the easy way you may want to do that part first.
  • VIDEO: Installing Ubuntu on Windows 11 (5:18) is an updated video using Windows 11

Note: as soon as you get the command line running you should type the following to ensure you have the latest updates. When asked for your password, enter your Windows password.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt install gcc
sudo apt install g++
sudo apt install make

Compiling C files with the Linux Subsystem for Windows

Once you have installed a Linux distribution from the Windows Store, the simplest way to compile & run your C files is to change to the appropriate directory from inside the Linux window then follow the directions for the VM's above.

If you save your files in a directory called csc240 on your C: drive:

Windows Directory in Explorer

Then you can change to that directory in the Linux window using the command

cd /mnt/c/csc240

You should modify the drive letter & directory as necessary.

Installing Cygwin on Windows

  • Cygwin is a good choice if you want to be able to run UNIX commands on Windows without doing a full Linux install. This also allows you to use your favorite Windows editory. Be sure to install at least gcc & g++. You will also want to install make & cppcheck.
  • VIDEO: Installing C & C++ Compiler for Windows 7, 8.1, & 10 - Cygwin has a pretty thorough walkthrough of installing Cygwin all the way through compiling a C program.
  • VIDEO: Installing Cygwin on Windows by James Jardine is another nice walkthrough of the installation process

Using C with Cygwin

After installing Cygwin you should se an icon on your desktop like below:

Cygwin Icon

Double-clicking the icon should bring up a Cygwin terminal like below:

Cygwin Terminal

Editing Cygwin Files

You can edit files in a second Cygwin terminal (using vim or pico), but you may prefer to edit the files using a Windows editor. You can either edit files under the Cygwin home directory or change to a Windows directory.

Editing files under the Cygwin home directory

The Cygwin home directory is selected during installation. Typically it is under C:\cygwin or C:\cygwin64. Under that installation directory, navigate to home\username. That is your Cygwin home directory.

Cygwin Directory in Explorer

Once you navigate to that directory (or whatever subdirectory you want to storeyour files) you can edit and save files there with your favorite text editor.

Editing files in a regular Windows directory

If you already have a directory where you store your code you can navigate to that directory under Cygwin. Suppose you have a directory called csc240 on your C: drive.

Windows Directory in Explorer

You can access your Windows drives by changing to the directory /cygdrive/driveletter. Note the leading slash. Replace driveletter with the appripriate drive letter, for example /cygdrive/c will be your computer's C: drive.

Compiling & running C in Cygwin

MacOS

The Mac Terminal should be sufficient for what we do in this class. You will need to install Xcode to get access to gcc/g++. On Mac I use iTerm2 which is a replacment for the built in terminal.

Using C on a Virtual Machine

Note that the instructions below relate to the VMs on the classroom & lab computers, but the steps are essentially the same (with slightly different look & feel)) on Windows 10, Cygwin, Linux, or MacOS.

VMWare Icon

  • Start the virtual machine (on the classroom computers there should be a virtual machine like abovek with the VMWare Icon with "CentOS CSC24" or something similar in the name)
  • Log on (use the default user if you are on the classroom VM)
  • Start a terminal (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal)
  • Edit the file using one of the following commands:
    • gedit file.c &
    • vi file.c
  • Run your programm using the command
./a.out

Running a C Program

Sample Session

The text below is from a session on the classroom VM. I've added comments (Starting with '#') describing what each command does. The commands below should be the same on Linux, MacOS, Cygwin, or Bash for Windows.

[student@localhost ~]$ ls                  # List the files in the current directory
Desktop Documents Downloads Music Pictures Public Templates Videos
[student@localhost ~]$ mkdir 240           # Create a directory
[student@localhost ~]$ cd 240/             # Change to directory 240
[student@localhost 240]$ ls                # List the files in the current directory
[student@localhost 240]$ pwd               # Show the current directory
/home/student/240
[student@localhost 240]$ gedit first.c &   # Edit first.c with gedit (note that the & is important - it tells Linux to run gedit in the background which lets you keep using the current terminal session)
[1] 3600
[student@localhost 240]$ cat first.c       # Display the contents of first.c
#include<stdio.h>

int main() {
   printf("Hello, world!");
   return 0;
}
[student@localhost 240]$ gcc --std=c11 -pedantic -Wall first.c # Compile
[student@localhost 240]$ ls                # Notice the new file - a.out.  That is the executable that is generated when we compile.  
a.out first.c
[student@localhost 240]$ a.out
bash: a.out: command not found...          # Linux does not look in the current directory by default
[student@localhost 240]$ ./a.out           # Specify to look in the current directory (./) for the file to run.
Hello, world!                              # Output from the program