Make utility

Im sorry if this is the wrong section.

I am reading a book on c++ and I am using windows to program(not that good with linux at the moment) The book got to a section on using make files to control builds and I am lost about setting up the make utility. Where can I download it for windows 64 bit? Is there anywhere with fairly simple instructions on getting everything setup? Thanks for any help.

For future reference this probably would be better suited in the C++ specific forum.

Depending on what setup of compiler and IDE you have it might or might not be easier to use make, but since you are using Windows it is in most cases easier to not use make. I suggest you download a good free IDE such as Code::Blocks or Visual C++ Express

Read a tutorial on how to get going
For Code::Blocks: Cprogramming.com Tutorial: Setting up Code::Blocks and MINGW, A Free C and C++ Compiler, on Windows
For Visual studio: Getting Started in Visual C

Then you are pretty much ready to write code and compile.

Alright thanks, I originally had Code::blocks and I liked it, just decided to practice being able to self compile a bit while reading one of the books. Thanks for the response.

If you really want to use make (Personally, I think compiling on command line is a good thing to learn to do), it's simple to set up.

1. Download it from MinGW - Minimalist GNU for Windows - Browse /MinGW/make/make-3.82-mingw32 at SourceForge.net
2. Extract files. The download uses tar lzma, which is non standard for Windows, but you can extract it using 7-zip.
3. Optionally, rename mingw32-make.exe to make.exe
4. Add the bin directory to your path. You can do this through Control Panel -> System -> Advanced system setting. Click on Environment Variables.