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Simple Gnu C Compiler With Nix Shell On Windows

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This tutorial is intended for developers who want to start developing in C on Windows, without having to use a heavy software like VisualStudio. And having a Linux like shell of course.

How to

Download MinGW for Windows at:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw/files/latest/download?source=files http://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw/files/latest/download?source=files

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Execute the MinGW installer

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in admin mode

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Follow the installer steps

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Then close the window

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A new winows appears : the installer

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select packages to install :

  • dev-tools
  • base (c compiler)
  • g++ (c++ compiler)
  • msys (NIX shell)

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Then click on Installation menu, update catalogue

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A new window appears with some gibberish text. Click on Review

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Click on Apply

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Then wait for the end of the download (30 secondes)

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After, close the installer

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Explorer your C: harddrive. A new MinGW folder appears

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Click on C:\MinGW\msys\1.0\msys.bat

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A new NIX shell appears.

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Create a .profile file inside (on Windows it’s not possible to create a file starting with “.”, so copy a file from my github or create it with touch command with the NIX shell)

touch .profile

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Close it. It’s just for the creation of the default user home folder.

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A new home folder appears at C:\MinGW\msys\1.0\home\

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Open it. It contains your home folder (in my case: C:\MinGW\msys\1.0\home\Damien)

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Open .profile with your text editor and add this :

.profile

# Cd to my windows home:
cd /c/Users/Damien

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Save it. And start msys.bat again

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At NIX shell, type the ls command.

 

The result is the content of your Windows user folder, instead of the NIX C:\MinGW\msys\1.0\home***

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Close this windows.

Then create a shortcut of msys.bat to your desktop or set it in your Windows path env.

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Your environnement is ready!

Demo

Create a c source code file in your user folder with your text editor

test.c

#include <stdio.h>
 
int main(){
    printf("Hello World!");
    return(0);
}

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Launch msys.bat

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A new NIX shell appears. Type the compile command gcc on your new source file.

gcc test.c

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Execute the generated executable with : a NIX command :

./a.exe

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or a Windows click on the .exe

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or a windows command line

a.exe

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Conclusion

MinGW is a simple and friendly tool for those who seek to program on a Linux like shell on Windows.

…BUT the MinGW documentation is very harsh with newbies, installer steps are very strange for a Windows user and the downloading package part required a lot of time (not easy in offline mode).

It’s not a turnkey solution, but it does the job.

Source

https://github.com/DamienFremont/damienfremont.com-blog-labs/tree/master/20150625-c_compiler_win_shell https://github.com/DamienFremont/damienfremont.com-blog-labs/tree/master/20150625-c_compiler_win_shell

References

https://assos.centrale-marseille.fr/ginfo/tutoriels/ma%C3%AEtrisez-la-compilation-cc-sous-windows https://assos.centrale-marseille.fr/ginfo/tutoriels/ma%C3%AEtrisez-la-compilation-cc-sous-windows

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7000524/changing-mingw-startup-directory-or-creating-mingw-symlinks http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7000524/changing-mingw-startup-directory-or-creating-mingw-symlinks

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7000524/changing-mingw-startup-directory-or-creating-mingw-symlinks http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7000524/changing-mingw-startup-directory-or-creating-mingw-symlinks

Origin

https://damienfremont.com/2015/06/25/simple-gnu-c-compiler-with-nix-shell-on-windows/

Hi, I'm Damien

Software Developer

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Founder of this blog, love Java and Open Source stuff. Follow him on Twitter.