Thread: Tools

All you need is a compiler. Also very important: a text editor with syntax highlighting. A text editor IS NOT a word processor!

On linux, try gvim.
On windows, notepad++ (or something).

I lot of people will recommend an "Integrated Development Environment" (IDE) such as eclipse or Visual Studio. These are editors combined with a compiler and debugger. In my opinion, most of them are NOT aimed at beginners and will only cause you unnecessary grief.

Also, by using the compiler in a console instead of via an IDE, you may learn a little bit about the fundamentals. This does not mean it is harder, it's actually easier -- the idea that an IDE will make much of anything easier for a beginner is false, and perhaps perpetuated on the (also false) premise that using the command line is difficult, whereas using a GUI is easy.

For the compiler itself, use gcc. On linux it is almost always already installed. On windows I believe you want "Mingw":

MinGW | Minimalist GNU for Windows

Agreed with almost everything MK27 said. Only thing I would change is the editor on Linux (not dissing VIM, just would not suggest it to a newbie since it works completely differently than any editor said newbie has ever used and may be perceived as user hostile) and add that the newbie should learn his or her debugger well....some of the most painful or pleasurable time the newbie spends working with code will be spent using this tool. As for the editor I would suggest a text-mode editor (to go along with the text-mode debugger and compiler) because this also makes it far easier to do remote development/debugging as well.

Oh and I would throw in a suggestion for Valgrind for catching certain classes of errors....I think Bounds Checker would be the Windows equivalent.

Peace

Originally Posted by MK27

All you need is a compiler. Also very important: a text editor with syntax highlighting. A text editor IS NOT a word processor!

On linux, try gvim.
On windows, notepad++ (or something).

Wouldn't both fit in for Windows if you run DEV-C++ it also supports C?

Btw. on Linux I am using Kwrite and GCC now to write and compile scripts. Are these very limited or are they good enough for the task? I am running an Ubuntu based version of Linux.

Originally Posted by JOZZY& Wakko

Wouldn't both fit in for Windows if you run DEV-C++ it also supports C?

Btw. on Linux I am using Kwrite and GCC now to write and compile scripts. Are these very limited or are they good enough for the task? I am running an Ubuntu based version of Linux.

KWrite is a surprisingly good programmers editor for KDE and I *think* is the core editor for KDevelop. On GNOME GEdit is a close second though it doesn't have all of the bells and whistles that KWrite does. KWrite is actually closer to a pure-play text editor than word processor.

BTW if you wanted an IDE for Linux, depending on "how much" IDE you want, Anjuta is good on GNOME, KDevelop is good on KDE. Codeblocks I hear is good and if you want something the kinda-sorta looks like V. Studio on Windows, CodeLite is quite nice.

As covered in another thread the base debugger on Linux is GDB which is a command line debugger but there are a number of GUI front-ends available for it.

A good merge/diff tool would be handy to have as would a decent version control system (VCS) to keep your code versions straight. Subversion is popular, supported on all platforms that I know of and has a number of GUI front-ends available.

If you are just creating code for yourself then that's fine. If however you need to understand someone elses codebase, getting a good C/C++ cross-reference tools (ie ctags) would be a nice tool to have as well.

Originally Posted by MWAAAHAAA

If you're used to kwrite, I would seriously recommend you switch to kate, since it has a built-in command line, which makes is very convenient when fixing compiling errors and debugging. And of course, because it is the setup I'm using as well

Dog gone it. I had a brain-f@rt. Kate is what I meant, not KWrite...I use Emacs pretty exclusively and was reporting from an apparently dodgy memory. Kate is the better editor between the two....(Kate vs KWrite)..sorry for the misleading recommendation....

D'oh! ^__^

Originally Posted by MK27

I lot of people will recommend an "Integrated Development Environment" (IDE) such as eclipse or Visual Studio. These are editors combined with a compiler and debugger. In my opinion, most of them are NOT aimed at beginners and will only cause you unnecessary grief.

Also, by using the compiler in a console instead of via an IDE, you may learn a little bit about the fundamentals. This does not mean it is harder, it's actually easier -- the idea that an IDE will make much of anything easier for a beginner is false, and perhaps perpetuated on the (also false) premise that using the command line is difficult, whereas using a GUI is easy.

Yeah? And what if I fail miserably and find it annoying or hard to do it manually and find using IDEs much better?
Honestly, this is subjective. I would suggest that the OP tries doing it both ways and sticking with what feels most natural.
You are bound to read a tutorial or two anyway. And an IDE will probably help you get started a little faster, but as previously mentioned, take a pick, see what works for you.
Another option for Windows is Visual Studio (IDE).

Originally Posted by Elysia

I would suggest that the OP tries doing it both ways and sticking with what feels most natural.

Well of course, and I presumed someone else would be along with other suggestions.

One thing I noticed here was "Using gcc directly from the command line might get a little bit boring" vs. a single click in an IDE; on linux the command line has a history, so repeating a command is only one keystroke -- presuming beginner programs usually run in a console, that could not be easier, and you actually know exactly what command is being issued (whereas an IDE add a layer of opacity, and issues a "command-line" in the background for you), AND you can go back and choose from a few different commands if they are sequential in the history.

But if your OS does not provide a command history, or you are not aware of using the "up" and "down" arrows on the command-line, then doing all that unnecessary typing would be a pain

ps. "gvim" was a silly suggestion, as jeffcobb points out. Kate sounds good, even "gedit" will be fine to start with since it does highlight syntax.

I don't actually know the the meaning of "boring" in this case, but I presume it isn't related to history.

Originally Posted by Elysia

I don't actually know the the meaning of "boring" in this case, but I presume it isn't related to history.

No, it surely means the fonts and the sparkly menubar

Actually I just started to use "g"vim and have to admit the GUI is more convenient than the console -- just it is much uglier. Nothing more aesthetic to my eyes than a fullscreen transparent terminal with a big muted christmas tree for the background.