Learn C++ Programming
Learn C++ : Introduction
C++ is one of the most popular programming languages. It is based on C but is an object-oriented programming language. It is widely used in graphics libraries, games, network devices, etc.
Why should we learn C++ ?
Features of C++
- C++ is fast
- Easy to learn
- A powerful programming language
- Has many built-in functions and operators which can make complex programs easy
- Can be compiled on a number of computer platforms
- C++ is an object-oriented programming language.
- Use of pointer makes it a much more powerful language.
- Also largely used in many large-scale projects
How to start ?
In this whole C++ tutorial, you will be learning about writing C++ programs. But what after that?
After writing any program, we need to compile and run it to see the output of the program.
So, what is meant by compiling ?
When we write our program in C++ language, it needs to be converted to machine language (which is binary language consisting of 0s and 1s) so that computer can understand and execute it. This conversion is known as compiling a program. We compile a code with the help of a compiler.
Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
To write and compile our C++ program, we have been provided with many IDEs.
An IDE consists of a Text Editor as well as a Compiler. We type our program in the text editor which is then compiled by the compiler.
Text Editor
We write our program in a text editor. The file containing our program is called source file and is saved with a .cpp extension.
C++ Compiler
After saving our program in a file with the .cpp extension, we need to compile it to convert it into machine language that computer can understand.
Now let's see how to compile and execute a C++ program on different operating systems.
Writing and compiling C++ program on Windows
Though there are many IDEs available for editing and compiling C++ programs for Windows, here we are talking about editing and compiling program using DevC++ which allows us to edit, compile and run our program. We can write and save our program using DevC++ itself and then compile it using the same.
Before learning to write a program in DevC++, first, make sure it is installed in your computer. If not, then download and install it.
To write and compile in DevC++, follow the steps given below.
1. On opening DevC++, you will get a window. Click on File->New->Source File option.
2. Write your C++ program as shown below and save it ( ctrl+s ).
#include <iostream>int main(){std::cout << "Hello World" <<std::endl;return 0;}
3. Once you have written the program, click on compile and run.
4. An output window will appear showing the result that is, Hello World printed.
Now, you are ready to go for the next chapter. We will explain this code in the next chapter.
Writing and compiling C++ program on Linux
For Linux, you can write your C++ program in various text editors like vim, gedit or Emacs. The following steps show how to edit and compile your C++ program, assuming that the text editor is gedit.
1. Open Terminal ( ctrl+alt+T ).
2. Open a new file with .cpp extension ( in our case name of the file is hello.cpp ) in your favourite editor (in our case gedit). The command is :
gedit hello.cpp
3. The text editor window will be opened. Type the C++ program given below ( we will explain this code in the next chapter ) and save it.
#include <iostream>int main(){std::cout << "Hello World" <<std::endl;return 0;}4. To compile the program, type g++ hello.cpp -o hello ( g++ filename.cpp -o hello ) and press Enter. This will create an executable file with name 'hello' ( you can give any other name also but you will have to execute the file with that name only ).
5. To run your program, type ./hello ( 'hello' is the name of the executable file we created in step 4 ) and press Enter. This will show the output of your program.
You can see Hello World printed on your screen. Now, you know how to write and compile C++ codes. So, you can go to the next chapter to understand this code.
To learn from simple videos, you can always look at our C++ video course on CodesDope Pro. It has over 750 practice questions and over 200 solved examples.
