editor and compilor
Hello,
I took c my freshman year of college and plan to continue computer sciences after a year at a community college so i would like to try and learn c++ in my spare time what do i need to download in order learn to program in c++.
I took c my freshman year of college and plan to continue computer sciences after a year at a community college so i would like to try and learn c++ in my spare time what do i need to download in order learn to program in c++.
To clarify some notation:
1. Code::Blocks is an IDE, or Integrated Development Environment. It brings together a code editor - often with syntax highlighting and code prediction - an compiler toolset, a debugger and more. It is designed to ease the development process.
2. A compiler, on the other hand, takes your C++ source code and turns it into machine code. Above, when I mentioned a "compiler toolset", I mean the compiler along with certain other tools such as the linker (it takes various bits of machine code - from your source file(s), from standard C++ libraries and from 3rd party libraries - and merges them all together into a final executable).
An example of a compiler toolset is GCC - the GNU compiler collection. It includes a linker, gcc (a C compiler) and g++ (a C++ compiler). On Windows, you can use MinGW (Minimalist GNU for Windows), which is a port of GNU to Windows.
In summary, Code::Blocks is a great IDE and I recommend you download it to help you write your programs. However, it is not a compiler. For a compiler, you will need MinGW/GCC, though if you wish to keep things simple you can download Code::Blocks with MinGW for Windows.
1. Code::Blocks is an IDE, or Integrated Development Environment. It brings together a code editor - often with syntax highlighting and code prediction - an compiler toolset, a debugger and more. It is designed to ease the development process.
2. A compiler, on the other hand, takes your C++ source code and turns it into machine code. Above, when I mentioned a "compiler toolset", I mean the compiler along with certain other tools such as the linker (it takes various bits of machine code - from your source file(s), from standard C++ libraries and from 3rd party libraries - and merges them all together into a final executable).
An example of a compiler toolset is GCC - the GNU compiler collection. It includes a linker, gcc (a C compiler) and g++ (a C++ compiler). On Windows, you can use MinGW (Minimalist GNU for Windows), which is a port of GNU to Windows.
In summary, Code::Blocks is a great IDE and I recommend you download it to help you write your programs. However, it is not a compiler. For a compiler, you will need MinGW/GCC, though if you wish to keep things simple you can download Code::Blocks with MinGW for Windows.
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