[ale] C Compiler for Linux

[Ron Frazier]

JD,

Thanks for all this info.  I'm saving it for the time when I need it.  
Thanks too, for the offer of help.  I may take you up on it at some 
point.  Until I get more thoroughly into VIM, do you know anything about 
using gedit for editing?

To the others who've replied to my posting, thank you, whether I 
personally replied to every one or not.

Sincerely,

Ron

On 6/24/2011 10:33 PM, JD wrote:
> On 06/24/2011 05:09 PM, Ron Frazier wrote:
>    
>> Hi Rich,
>>
>> Even though we've discussed some of this on the phone, I thought I'd
>> share it with the group.
>>
>> I've been threatening to relearn programming for 15 years, and I'm
>> hoping to actually carry out the threat.  15 years ago, I programmed in
>> Clipper, a C like database language.  I posted a thread a few months
>> back on this list talking about developing in C#.  However, the people
>> here convinced me that C++ would be better.  I now hope to plow through
>> the book "Programming Principles and Practice Using C++" by Bjarne
>> Stroustrup (the inventor of C++).  I'm hoping to do cross platform
>> development.  I'm going to use Visual C++ Express on Windows, which is
>> free.  On Linux, I've hit on the GCC compiler, as suggested by others.
>> I don't know how to use the make system, at this point, but compiling
>> small programs with a few source files seems to be very simple.  I
>> believe you can go through this entire book without an IDE.  I know that
>> the gedit editor in Ubuntu does syntax highlighting and auto indention
>> for C / C++ files.  I'll probably start out using that.  I may also try
>> VIM as I've had just enough experience with VI in the past to be
>> dangerous.  (I basically know the insert, delete line, and write file
>> commands.)  Obviously, I would have to learn more about VIM for serious
>> programming, but you can do a lot with just those commands, although not
>> very efficiently.  By the way, this book also talks about a cross
>> platform minimal graphics toolkit called FLTK (faster than light
>> toolkit, I think) which can be used to put basic windows and buttons on
>> the screen, etc.  When I graduate to an IDE, I'll probably try NetBeans
>> or Eclipse.  I believe Eclipse can run on Windows too.
>>
>>      
> You don't need an IDE and when you are starting out, it complicates and
> hides things that you really need to know.  You need 3 terminals.
>
> * Any good syntax highlighting editor in a window (vim, geany, or cough
> emacs).  Geany does a halstat on functions and classes which is very
> useful without all the bloat that java-based IDEs bring.
> * in another term, use make
> * debugger like gdb or xxgdb if you want a GUI.  I haven't done
> debugging in years, so does xxgdb still exist?
>
> You also want to use a version control system. These days I like BZR,
> but GIT is useful too.
>
> Vim is probably the most efficient editor ever created. You just need to
> know how to use it. I've used many different editors of all sorts,
> brief, spf-edit, emacs, vi, Visual C++, geany, notepad++, eclipse ...
> none of them compare to vim in the hands of a power user.  I migrated
> from emacs to vim when I kept changing into vi-mode to get things done.
> Anyway, an editor is a very personal decision and you'll need to pick
> the best for yourself.
>
> You can start with simple bash scripts to build your initial projects.
> It isn't like they will be all that large or take more than a few seconds.
> make ... ah, make.  tabs matter.  Be certain that your editor isn't
> "helping you" by replacing tabs with spaces. If that happens, your
> Makefile will never work. I think gmake is the default make in Linux,
> which is good.  It has been more than a few years since I wrote any
> makefiles, but if you provide a sample and ask a question, I can help.
> I may even have a makefile template around here on an old CD backup from
> work ... long ago.
>
>    

-- 

(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new messages very quickly.)

Ron Frazier

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