The C++ Programming Environment in UNIX
The best way to learn a programming language is to try writing programs and test them on a computer! To do this, we need several pieces of software:
An editor with which to write and modify the C++ program components or source code,
A compiler with which to convert the source code into machine instructions which can be executed by the computer directly,
A linking program with which to link the compiled program components with each other and with a selection of routines from existing libraries of computer code, in order to form the complete machine-executable object program,
A debugger to help diagnose problems, either in compiling programs in the first place, or if the object program runs but gives unintended results.
There are several editors available for UNIX-based systems. Two of the most popular editors are . For the compiler and linker, we will be using the GNU g++ compiler/linker, and for the debugger we will be using the GNU debugger gdb. For those that prefer an integrated development environment (IDE) that combines an editor, a compiler, a linking program and a debugger in a single programming environment (in a similar way to Microsoft Developer Studio under Windows NT), there are also IDEs available for UNIX (e.g. Eclipse, xcode, kdevelop etc.)
