We are quite often asked by students “How can I compile a C or C++ program on Linux operating systems using bash Terminal application?” Today we will show you how!
To compile a C or C++ program on any Linux distro such as Ubuntu, Red Hat, Fedora, Debian and other Linux distro you need to install:
- GNU C and C++ compiler collection
- Development tools
- Development libraries
- IDE or text editor to write programs
Step #1: Install C/C++ compiler and related tools
If you are using Debian or Ubuntu Linux, type the following apt-get command to install GNU c/c++ compiler:
$ sudo apt-get update $ sudo apt-get install build-essential manpages-dev
Step #2: Verify installation
Type the following command to display the version number and location of the compiler on Linux:
$ whereis gcc $ which gcc $ gcc --version
Sample output:
itlc@debian:~$ whereis gcc gcc: /usr/bin/gcc /usr/lib/gcc itlc@debian:~$ which gcc /usr/bin/gcc itlc@debian:~$ gcc --version gcc (Debian 4.9.2-10) 4.9.2 Copyright (C) 2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc. This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
How to Compile and Run C/C++ program on Linux
Create a file called demo.c using a text editor such as vi, emacs or nano:
#include<stdio.h> /* demo.c: My first C program on a Linux */ int main(void) { printf("Hello! This is a test prgoram.\n"); return 0; }
How do I compile the program on Linux?
Use any one of the following syntax to compile the program called demo.c:
cc program-source-code.c -o executable-file-name
or
gcc program-source-code.c -o executable-file-name
or
## assuming demo.c exists in the current directory ## make demo
If there is no error in your code or C program then the compiler will successfully create an executable file called demo in the current directory, otherwise you need fix the code. To verify this, type:
$ ls -l demo*
How do I run or execute the program called demo on Linux?
Simply type the the program name:
$ ./demo
Compiling and running a simple C++ program
Create a program called demo2.C as follows:
#include "iostream"
// demo2.C - Sample C++ prgoram
int main(void)
{
std::cout << "Hello! This is a C++ program.\n";
return 0;
}
To compile this program, enter:
g++ demo2.C -o demo2 ## or use the following syntax ## make demo2
To run this program, type:
./demo2
How do I generate optimized code on a Linux machine?
The syntax is as follows C compiler:
cc -O input.c -o executable
The syntax is as follows C++ compiler:
g++ -O -Wall input.C -o executable
How do I compile a program with multiple source files?
The syntax is as follows if the source code is in several files (such as light.c, sky.c, fireworks.c):
cc light.c sky.c fireworks.c -o executable
C++ syntax is as follows if the source code is in several files:
g++ ac.C bc.C file3.C -o my-program-name
