Setting Up A nice Console Programing Environment

[Darkestaxe]

So I want to learn C++, I've found this nice looking learning guide on this site. At first I thought I'd use the Visual C++ Console Template since I know how to build and run programs in Visual Studio. That was a bad choice, as seen here

In the afore mentioned tutorial there's a 'Hello World' program to start out with...

// my first program in C++
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main ()
{
  cout << "Hello World!";
  return 0;
}

Built into the Visual C++ Console Template is this 'Hello World' program...

// MyFirstC++.cpp : main project file.
#include "stdafx.h"
using namespace System;
int main(array<System::String ^> ^args)
{
    Console::WriteLine(L"Hello World");
    return 0;
}

If you ask me these look nothing alike. I'm sure an experienced C++/windows environment programmer would see little difference, but from my perspective half the code is different.

So I thought I'd try the free Borland C++ compiler. I have a directory now with a bunch of files including a Bin folder with a bunch of executable files. none of them look like anything that will help me. Again if I were an experienced C++ programmer I might know that this is just a compiler and not an IDE, well I think I do know that but I don't want to write a program in notepad, stick it in the directory and start running random .exe's.

So I decided to go with G++. I managed to find a guide to installing it in windows for console apps, but this appears to be a long and complicated process involving changing windows environment variables that may or may not be the same on windows 7 (it's for XP) and in the end you compile programs with a command like 'g++ -g hello.cpp -o hello -lm'.

I'm looking for a simple way to get to the point where I can type code from the tutorial into a text editor environment of some type and hit <build> (or something), and see "Hello World" in some sort of output. All without converting simple C++ code into system.net.windows.environment code.

I realize I might be asking for a little more then I'm gonna get, after all C++ is for serious programmers as I understand, but anything that beats the options I described should work.

[Bazzy]

If you ask me these look nothing alike. I'm sure an experienced C++/windows environment programmer would see little difference, but from my perspective half the code is different.

The second code is not C++ ( it's C++/CLI which is a different language ). When you create a new project on VC++ select the Empty Project template ( not CLR )

So I decided to go with G++. I managed to find a guide to installing it in windows for console apps, but this appears to be a long and complicated process involving changing windows environment variables that may or may not be the same on windows 7 (it's for XP) and in the end you compile programs with a command like 'g++ -g hello.cpp -o hello -lm'.

You can get an IDE for g++ ( eg: Code::Blocks )

[Darkestaxe]

The second code is not C++ ( it's C++/CLI which is a different language ). When you create a new project on VC++ select the Empty Project template ( not CLR )

THX Bazzy, this solves my problem.

For future reference by viewers, after creating a new 'Empty Project' you will need to right click on the source files folder in the solution explorer and add a new C++ file. Open this to begin editing.