Mary Gardiner · UNIX Guide · Compiling C and C++

UNIX: Compiling C and C++

Compiling C

The cc command compiles C code.

If your code was in a file called hello.c, you would compile it with the command cc hello.c.

By default, the compiled file is called a.out and you could run your program by typing ./a.out.

If you want to put your output in a file with another name, say my_program, use the -o flag to cc, like this: cc -o my_program hello.c. Then you could run your program with the command ./my_program.

The C compiler has a number of useful warnings that can help you find bugs in your code. In order to use the C compile with the warnings turned on, use the -Wall and -pedantic options, like this: cc -Wall -pedantic -o my_program hello.c.

Compiling C++

The c++ command compiles C++ code.

If your code was in a file called hello.cc, you would compile it with the command c++ hello.cc.

By default, the compiled file is called a.out and you could run your program by typing ./a.out.

If you want to put your output in a file with another name, say my_program, use the -o flag to c++, like this: c++ -o my_program hello.cc. Then you could run your program with the command ./my_program.

The C++ compiler has a number of useful warnings that can help you find bugs in your code. In order to use the C++ compile with the warnings turned on, use the -Wall and -pedantic options, like this: c++ -Wall -pedantic -o my_program hello.cc.

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