Compilation and Execution

There are several such IDEs available in the market targeted towards different operating systems. For example, Turbo C, Turbo C++ and Microsoft C are some of the popular compilers that work under MS-DOS; Visual C++ and Borland C++ are the compilers that work under Windows, whereas gcc compiler works under Linux. Note that Turbo C++, Microsoft C++ and Borland C++ software also contain a C compiler bundled with them. If you are a beginner you would be better off using a simple compiler like Turbo C or Turbo C++. Once you have mastered the language elements you can then switch over to more sophisticated compilers like Visual C++ under Windows or gcc under Linux.

Assuming that you are using a Turbo C or Turbo C++ compiler here are the steps that you need to follow to compile and execute your first C program…

a)      Start the compiler at C> prompt. The compiler (TC.EXE is usually present in C:\TC\BIN directory).

b)      Select New from the File menu.

c)      Type the program.

d)      Save the program using F2 under a proper name (say Program1.c).

e)      Use Ctrl + F9 to compile and execute the program.

f)       Use Alt + F5 to view the output.

Note that on compiling the program its machine language equivalent is stored as an EXE file (Program1.EXE) on the disk. This file is called an executable file.