How to compile files in linux

How To Compile And Run a C/C++ Code In Linux

I am a new Linux user and student who used to write C or C++ programs on MS-Windows. Now, I am using Ubuntu Linux. How can I compile a C or C++ program on Linux operating systems using bash Terminal application?

To compile a C or C++ program on any Linux distro such as Ubuntu, Red Hat, Fedora, Debian and other Linux distro you need to install:

Tutorial details
Difficulty level	Easy
Root privileges	No
Requirements	GNU C/C++ compiler
Est. reading time	2 minutes

1. GNU C and C++ compiler collection
2. Development tools
3. Development libraries
4. IDE or text editor to write programs

Step #1: Install C/C++ compiler and related tools

If you are using Fedora, Red Hat, CentOS, or Scientific Linux, use the following yum command to install GNU c/c++ compiler:
# yum groupinstall ‘Development Tools’
If you are using Debian or Ubuntu Linux, type the following apt-get command to install GNU c/c++ compiler:
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install build-essential manpages-dev

Step #2: Verify installation

Type the following command to display the version number and location of the compiler on Linux:
$ whereis gcc
$ which gcc
$ gcc —version
Sample outputs:

Fig. 01: GNU C/C++ compilers on Linux

How to Compile and Run C/C++ program on Linux

Create a file called demo.c using a text editor such as vi, emacs or joe:

How do I compile the program on Linux?

Use any one of the following syntax to compile the program called demo.c:

In this example, compile demo.c, enter:

If there is no error in your code or C program then the compiler will successfully create an executable file called demo in the current directory, otherwise you need fix the code. To verify this, type:
$ ls -l demo*

How do I run or execute the program called demo on Linux?

Simply type the the program name:
$ ./demo
OR
$ /path/to/demo
Samples session:

Animated gif 01: Compile and run C and C++ program demo

Compiling and running a simple C++ program

Create a program called demo2.C as follows:

To compile this program, enter:

To run this program, type:

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How do I generate symbolic information for gdb and warning messages?

The syntax is as follows C compiler:
cc -g -Wall input.c -o executable
The syntax is as follows C++ compiler:
g++ -g -Wall input.C -o executable

How do I generate optimized code on a Linux machine?

The syntax is as follows C compiler:
cc -O input.c -o executable
The syntax is as follows C++ compiler:
g++ -O -Wall input.C -o executable

How do I compile a C program that uses math functions?

The syntax is as follows when need pass the -lm option with gcc to link with the math libraries:
cc myth1.c -o executable -lm

How do I compile a C++ program that uses Xlib graphics functions?

The syntax is as follows when need pass the -lX11 option with gcc to link with the Xlib libraries:
g++ fireworks.C -o executable -lX11

How do I compile a program with multiple source files?

The syntax is as follows if the source code is in several files (such as light.c, sky.c, fireworks.c):
cc light.c sky.c fireworks.c -o executable
C++ syntax is as follows if the source code is in several files:
g++ ac.C bc.C file3.C -o my-program-name
See gcc(1) Linux and Unix man page for more information.

🐧 Get the latest tutorials on Linux, Open Source & DevOps via

Category	List of Unix and Linux commands
Documentation	help • mandb • man • pinfo
Disk space analyzers	df • duf • ncdu • pydf
File Management	cat • cp • less • mkdir • more • tree
Firewall	Alpine Awall • CentOS 8 • OpenSUSE • RHEL 8 • Ubuntu 16.04 • Ubuntu 18.04 • Ubuntu 20.04
Linux Desktop Apps	Skype • Spotify • VLC 3
Modern utilities	bat • exa
Network Utilities	NetHogs • dig • host • ip • nmap
OpenVPN	CentOS 7 • CentOS 8 • Debian 10 • Debian 8/9 • Ubuntu 18.04 • Ubuntu 20.04
Package Manager	apk • apt
Processes Management	bg • chroot • cron • disown • fg • glances • gtop • jobs • killall • kill • pidof • pstree • pwdx • time • vtop
Searching	ag • grep • whereis • which
Shell builtins	compgen • echo • printf
Text processing	cut • rev
User Information	groups • id • lastcomm • last • lid/libuser-lid • logname • members • users • whoami • who • w
WireGuard VPN	Alpine • CentOS 8 • Debian 10 • Firewall • Ubuntu 20.04

Comments on this entry are closed.

thank you so much ur solution gave a relief…
it made my gcc command to work

Very nice article…..

In Fig. 01, you did “whereis” twice. Shouldn’t it be “which” the second time? Thanks for the tut though. Big fan!

Another mistake, please change the following comment:
## assuming that executable-file-name.c exists ##
to
## assuming that program-source-code.c exists in the current directory ##

how to compile a program that use math functions and other things?

For the sake of supplying an example, let’s say you want to use the cosine function. This is supplied in the Linux math library. The cosine function is called ‘cos()’. Similarly, the sine function is called ‘sin()’.

First, to find information about how to use them, type “man cos” in a terminal session. This gives you the manual page for the cosine function. The output from ‘man’ may vary for your system, but it likely tells you three things: 1. first, include the math.h header, 2. cos() takes a ‘double’ as its argument and it returns a double as its output, 3. to build your program, tell the C compiler to include the math library (-lm).

Here’s a sample program that does all of this:

Love it!
Thank you. I have a trouble in doing step 1 and 2. But they are fixed.

thank u ,
need pdf of the commands guide to access the c/c++/java.

to compile and run a c++ program in ubuntu follow these simple steps:
1 open terminal window.
2 type “gedit” .
3 A gedit window will appear whereyou can write your program.
4 save your program as “filename.cpp” on desktop, “.cpp” is compulsory.
5 open terminal again and type “cd Desktop”.
6 In second line type “g++ filename.cpp”.
7 Type “./a.out”.
NOW YOUR WILL RUN.

very nice to your step.
thanks

Thanks! This article really helped me to find the GNU compiler in a Linux Operating System and showed me how to compile a C program.

dear sir,
what is the procedure to run .cpp program in linux distro debian 5 ?

just about to get around to learning c along with teaching my sons it. i had no idea where to start, the first page i checked is a bumper bonanza.

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How to Write and Run a C Program in Linux

Linux is becoming programming heaven for developers, being an open-source and free operating system. Turbo C compiler is already an old approach to compile programs so let us programmers move to Linux for a new programming environment. In this article, we will explain how to write, compile, and run a simple C program. This will serve as a basis for you to move to more complicated and useful C programs that you can write and execute on Linux.

We have run the steps and commands mentioned in this article on a Ubuntu 20.04 LTS system but it will work on other versions like Ubuntu 18.04 or distributions like Debian 10 in the exact same way.

We will be using the Linux command-line tool, the Terminal, in order to compile a simple C program. To open the Terminal, you can use the Ubuntu Dash or the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut.

Step 1: Install the build-essential packages

In order to compile and execute a C program, you need to have the essential packages installed on your system. Enter the following command as root in your Linux Terminal:

You will be asked to enter the password for root; the installation process will begin after that. Please make sure that you are connected to the internet.

Step 2: Write a simple C program

After installing the essential packages, let us write a simple C program.

Open Ubuntu’s graphical Text Editor and write or copy the following sample program into it:

Then save the file with .c extension. In this example, I am naming my C program as sampleProgram.c

Alternatively, you can write the C program through the Terminal in gedit as follows:

This will create a .c file where you can write and save a program.

Step 3: Compile the C program with gcc Compiler

In your Terminal, enter the following command in order to make an executable version of the program you have written:

Make sure your program is located in your Home folder. Otherwise, you will need to specify appropriate paths in this command.

Step 4: Run the program

The final step is to run the compiled C program. Use the following syntax to do so:

You can see how the program is executed in the above example, displaying the text we wrote to print through it.

Through this article, you have learned how to write, compile and run a simple C program in Linux. All you need is the essential packages and the right skills to make you a programming guru in Linux!

Karim Buzdar

About the Author: Karim Buzdar holds a degree in telecommunication engineering and holds several sysadmin certifications. As an IT engineer and technical author, he writes for various web sites. You can reach Karim on LinkedIn

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How To Compiling C Program And Creating Executable File Under a Linux / UNIX / *BSD

H ow do I compile C program and create an executable file under Linux or UNIX operating systems?

Tutorial details
Difficulty level	Easy
Root privileges	No
Requirements	C compiler
Est. reading time	5m

[/donotprint]But you can use gcc command to compile program. First make sure you have gcc C compiler installed:

Make Sure Compiler Is Installed On a Unix-like System

Type the following which command or type command or command command to verify that gcc is installed:
$ type -a gcc
$ command -V gcc
$ which gcc
Sample outputs:

Find out version of gcc, run:
$ gcc —version
Sample outpust:

Syntax

The syntax is as follows to compile a C program on a Unix-like operating system:
gcc program.c -o program-output
OR
cc program.c -o program-output
OR
make program

Writing Your First C Program Under a Linux / UNIX-like system

Use a text editor such as vi or gedit or nano to create a C program called first.c:
$ vi first.c
Type the following lines (program):

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How Do I Compile My C Program?

To compile C program first.c, and create an executable file called first, enter:
$ gcc first.c -o first
OR
$ cc first.c -o first
To execute program first, enter:
$ ./first
Output:

However, both FreeBSD and Linux support direct make (GNU make utility to maintain groups of programs) command on C program without writing a make file. Remove, first program using the rm command:
$ rm first
$ make first

Output:

Execute program first:
$ ./first
Please note that above hack works with GNU/make only.

See also:

🐧 Get the latest tutorials on Linux, Open Source & DevOps via

Category	List of Unix and Linux commands
Documentation	help • mandb • man • pinfo
Disk space analyzers	df • duf • ncdu • pydf
File Management	cat • cp • less • mkdir • more • tree
Firewall	Alpine Awall • CentOS 8 • OpenSUSE • RHEL 8 • Ubuntu 16.04 • Ubuntu 18.04 • Ubuntu 20.04
Linux Desktop Apps	Skype • Spotify • VLC 3
Modern utilities	bat • exa
Network Utilities	NetHogs • dig • host • ip • nmap
OpenVPN	CentOS 7 • CentOS 8 • Debian 10 • Debian 8/9 • Ubuntu 18.04 • Ubuntu 20.04
Package Manager	apk • apt
Processes Management	bg • chroot • cron • disown • fg • glances • gtop • jobs • killall • kill • pidof • pstree • pwdx • time • vtop
Searching	ag • grep • whereis • which
Shell builtins	compgen • echo • printf
Text processing	cut • rev
User Information	groups • id • lastcomm • last • lid/libuser-lid • logname • members • users • whoami • who • w
WireGuard VPN	Alpine • CentOS 8 • Debian 10 • Firewall • Ubuntu 20.04

Comments on this entry are closed.

Your c code is missing the filename of the #include directive.

Thanks for heads up.

Hi, I was just wondering how would you create an executable for numerous C programs? I am modifying the Windows Frotz interpreter for a college assignment with the aim to output the game data to a html page. The source for the interpreter contains numerous C files in a number of subdirectories. I have made the modifications but need to create the executable to see if it works properly. This is my first time creating an executable so i’m a bit unsure how to go about it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I just want to thank you. I am 57 years old and I just started computing two years ago. I have built three towers, which is no big deal; but, I have been running a lot of different systems. I want to learn c and c++ and you have helped me a lot. I am grateful for any help I can get. I usually do stuff on my own.I still wonder what the greatest difference is between BSD and Debian other than software installation. I do think that BSD is closer to being pure UNIX than Debian, but the kernels are so alike or an I wrong? It world be nice to know. Anyway, this letter is to thank you.

Nice to see at 57, you are learning BSD and C/C++ development.

*BSD is under BSD vs Linux is under GPL License
Network stack

Little change in command syntax for few utilities

A BSD and Linux kernel are different and follows different development methods and approach.

Please see this post along with discussion for more info.

i want a C program Compiler Code In VI editor

hi, i ve installed red hat linux.and trying to compile C++ prg.but getting a err msg saying that gcc not found.then i tried to see which compiler installed on my linx.To do so i am giving cmd – which
gcc – output is /usr/bin/which: – no gcc.

and i am not able to compile my prog..

plz help me in dis regard.

You need to install install update your repositories, and install it thru the RPM comander or do it with de packgesmanager.

install g++ . in redhat and centos or fedora yum install g++

king777 – you need to make sure the gcc development package is selected when you install redhat. Otherwise, you have to download/install gcc manually.

i don’t know about software creation iam from a village school of india
shall you pls send any program in c for me iam too interest in these

If using the Unix system

Follow the below steps:
$ vi welcome.c
Save the content written below (This is called programme)

include
int main(void)
<
printf(“WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF C\n”);
return 0;
>

Step 3 ) comiple the progamme
gcc welcome.c -o WELCOME

Step 4) For execution
$ ./WELCOME

THNX. very useful. 😀 😀 😀

After typing the following command “$ which gcc” to verify that gcc is installed, the Output was “/usr/bin/which: no gcc in (/usr/kerberos/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin:/home/omar/bin)
” , instead of being “/usr/bin/gcc”. what i have to do now?

I would like to thank you very much. I am new user of linux and C language, I was trying to compile a small program for hours. You made it so easy thank you again and god bless you.

Many thanks for this! I love programming in C and perl and getting my feet wet with Linux/UNIX.

As a followup question, how would I take a program I’ve created (a calculator, for example), and package it so it can run as an executable on another computer (or even embed in a linux distro)?

i want to know how to create executable file.

when u compile any *.c file automatically the executable file is created, which is linked to ld further to get the output,the executable file created after compiling is called as intermediate object file or executable

I file con be executable thru the permitions
chmod +x program make in a sudo way

how to compile a user defined function in c using gcc.
what do you mean by segmentation fault.

Hi
i’m new linux worker.
befor linux i work on windows7 and now for robotic programing and… work in linux fedora12.
thank u for this note.
and i have a question!(excuse me for my bad english,becous i’m iranian)
–> how we can load and open the serial port in program??
–>how can i open the camera on linux?
–>and how we can comunicate with other laptop with wi-fi?

I followed the steps mentioned above.I m able to compile the code.But when i m givin “./first” to
run it its giving the following “-bash: ./first: Permission denied”. Please help me

Usually the compiled programm. If that’s not the case run
sudo chmod u+x
which gives the user permission to execute the file.

hii…iam on redhat 5.0….whenever i try to compile c program…iam gettin an error msg stating gcc command not found….explain me the easy way to install the gcc….please help me

i tried which gcc as you said but iam getting gcc not in and ./a.out is also not working…please someone help me out

HI! I’m new for linux and I’m using Fedora 13 actually I wnt to install compiler for c and c++ someone told me gcc is inbuilt in fedora 13, is it possible tell me how to know it’s installed or not or how to install it? how to create c or c++ programs in fedora 13 or any linux system, how to install other IDE’s for development. Please someone help me out……

I would like to know how can I execute the file “first” without using preceeding it
with the characters “./” . Any help is appreciated.

when i try to compile a C pogram in centos 5.2…i get the following error
$ cc prog.c
bash: cc: command not found

how to get rid of this prob…pls help

actually it is because gcc is not installed so type “yum install gcc” if u have a centos or fedora

i tried it as su -c’yum install gcc’
but it also get faliure.to install the gcc so hw could i hv 2 go for install.

yum only works if you have a yum repository… otherwise you have to do it manually..

when i try to compile a C pogram in Fedora 13 .i get the following error
$ cc prog.c
bash: cc: command not found
how to get rid of this prob…pls help

Dear friend,
I cannot also create,compile & execute C program in Fedora 15.Please help me to do this mailing me the required commands.

I can’t not compile program

TopDollar !! 🙂
My first c-compilation yummie!
And it works perfect following your instructions.
Peace out!

hi friends can any one say me how can i add libraries(.h) to my gcc compiler

This really doesn’t help me to understand how to make the compiled program executable. When I say executable I mean a *.exe file that I can call by name (such as typing “first_program.exe” in a terminal & having it execute), or by double clicking in a graphical environment.

Does ANYBODY know how to do THAT?!

Can I use script on Windows XP??

If we have a program with multible *.c or *.h files how do we compile those together? And how do we make this a *.exe file or some sort of exacutable?

i just want to know how to install gcc files in fedora. /

use the following command in terminal (it works for me in fedora 14)
yum groupinstall ‘Development Tools’

This will download (approx 105Mb) of data and automatically install it on your system. the best thing is you dont have to worry about the dependencies 😉
then type gcc and press enter
you should get this error “no input files selected” this means gcc is installed.

i tried but it says that you need to be root to perform this command. now what should i do?

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