Compiling in Linux

[saltpro15]

so I started some programming in Ubuntu, got a great IDE called anjuta, and I just have some questions, call it a learning experience instead of just hitting a button. Why are files .cxx and not .cpp? how does compiling work, since linux can't run .exe's?

[Insectoid]

I believe ubuntu comes with G++, though I'm not sure. I know you can compile from the terminal, for example, to compile C++, type G++ <filename>. Make sure to navigate to the right folder with the cd command. for interpreted languages or java, type <language><filename>. For example,

>> ruby example.rb

will execute the file example.rb through the ruby interpreter.

[saltpro15]

ah, thanks, just trying to wrap my head around this

[DemonWasp]

It doesn't matter so much what your files are called, as there are a few extensions that C++ allows, including .cxx, .cpp, .c, .cc, .C and so on. I'm not aware of any real distinguishing factor, save that C++ should be .cpp or .cxx while C should be .cc or .c .

Just try something like:

code:

g++ file.cpp -o executableName

With your own file substituted in. You can skip the -o executableName bit; if you do, it defaults to "a.out".

You are correct that Linux cannot run .exe files, as those are Windows-specific compiled files. However, UNIX operating systems do have their own binary executable format. These files are identified by the file contents as well as by the permissions on the file rather than by the extension (you must have "execute permission", and the OS must know how to execute the file - it knows how to execute shell scripts and compiled code, for example).

Here's an example of compiling a simple program:

file.cpp

code:

#include <iostream> int main ( int argc, char ** argv ) {     std::cout << "Hello World" << std::endl; }

At your terminal (note: do not type the $, that's the symbol for "prompt"):

code:

$ g++ file.cpp -o myFile $ ./myFile Hello World $

For interpreted languages, insectoid is quite right.

[OneOffDriveByPoster]

DemonWasp @ Thu Feb 12, 2009 4:09 pm wrote:

It doesn't matter so much what your files are called, as there are a few extensions that C++ allows, including .cxx, .cpp, .c, .cc, .C and so on. I'm not aware of any real distinguishing factor, save that C++ should be .cpp or .cxx while C should be .cc or .c .

Actually, .cc and .C are usually C++ and not C.

[wtd]

A few common file extension conventions:

C: .h and .c
C++: .h and .cpp
Obj-C: .h and .m
Perl: .pl and .pm
Python: .py
Ruby: .rb
Java: .java and .class
C#: .cs and .exe
Shell scripts: .sh
Scala: .scala and .class
O'Caml: .ml
Haskell: .hs

[saltpro15]

ok, I'm just wondering, if I create a game in linux and put it up on compsci, will people with windows be able to run it?

[wtd]

If you publish the source code, yes.

[andrew.]

Only if you post the source code. Compiled Linux binaries won't work in Windows.

[saltpro15]

alright, thanks for the info guys

[DemonWasp]

Further note: you have to use libraries that are available on all the systems you want to run on. The standard C/C++ libraries are available on most modern operating systems, but if you're looking at GUI components and such extensions to the language, you need to look more carefully.

If you don't want to post source code, you could also just compile the code on every major OS/architecture group you want to provide support for. A lot of open-source projects do this for their user's convenience, so their users don't have to run makefiles or compile the product manually.