Disclaimer: This page is being maintained mainly for my students.Use these instructions at your own risk. There is no warranty in anyform or shape whatsoever!. There is no guarantee that theseinstructions are up-to-date. With that understood you maycontinue with the rest of this page if you choose to accept theseterms.
This page was last updated on September 13, 2005, but still good as ofOctober 6, 2020.
Follow these steps to install g++ (the GNU C++ compiler) for Windows. There is no room for creativity here; youmust follow the directions exactly.
- Pick the drive and a folder in which you want to install g++.I'll assume that it is C:, but you can choose adifferent one. If you choose a differentdrive or a different folder, you'll need to adapt the directions below accordingly.
- Download full.exe, an about 14 megabyteexecutable, to C:\full.exe by right-clicking on thelink. Use Save Link As... orSave Target As... Be sure thebrowser saves the file as C:\full.exe.
- Run the downloaded executable. This will install g++ (and a lotof other things that you don't really need) on your hard drive. Go tothe C: drive using Windows Explorer and double-click on full.exe. Or, open a DOS commandprompt window (Start > Programs > CommandPrompt), connect tothe C: drive using the cd command, and typefull.
- Locate where the bin folder was created for the g++installation. On my Windows machine, it was created in thefollowing path:
C:\cygnus\cygwin-b20\H-i586-cygwin32\bin
You now should add it to the PATH environment variable. Youdo that by following: ... -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> Advanced System Settings -> Environment Variables
At this point you can see the PATH variable either in theUser Variables or in the System Variables. Add theg++ path into either of the the PATH variables. If you arethe only user of your computer, it does not matter which one youuse. You add it to the end of the existing values eitherseparated by a semicolon (';') if you are using an old machine or as anew line if you are using a new machine that has in that format. Make sure that you do not lose the original value. You arejust appending more to the end either as a part of an existing line ora new line. - Restart your computer. A CygnusSolutions entry will appear in your Programs menu, and an icon mayappear on your desktop. Don't use them! You will useit using the g++ command on a DOS command prompt as explainedbelow.
You should now be able to run g++ from a DOS command prompt window.For example, to compile a file called C:\mine\hello.cpp, connect to theC:\mine folder and enter
g++ -g hello.cpp -o hello -lm
You'll then be able to run the compiled program by entering
hello in the DOS commandprompt window.
If you've installed Emacs as described here, you will also be able to run g++from Emacs. If you want to learn how to run g++ in emacs,see here.
If you'd like to learn more about where this free compiler came from,we downloaded it from an older site of http://sourceware.org/cygwin/.
If you wish to clean up a little, you may deletethe file: full.exe at thispoint. Your g++ compiler is installed under C:\cygnus.
Maintained by
Art Lee(alee at cmc dot edu).
Last modified . . .
FAQs
Installing c++/g++ on Windows
- Pick the drive and a folder in which you want to install g++. ...
- Download full.exe, an about 14 megabyte executable, to C:\full.exe by right-clicking on the link. ...
- Run the downloaded executable. ...
- Locate where the bin folder was created for the g++ installation. ...
- Restart your computer.
GCC and G++ compilers are used to execute C & C++ code in Windows on command line, or to help run C and C++ from Visual Studio Code or IntelliJ IDE.
How to install GCC and G++ in Windows 10? ›
How to Setup GCC Compiler for Windows
- Step 1: Downloading MinGW-w64. ...
- Step 2: Downloading Zip File. ...
- Step 3: Extract and Install. ...
- Step 4: Click Install. ...
- Step 5: Installation Preferences. ...
- Step 6: Downloading MinGW Installation Manager. ...
- Step 7: Choose GNU Compilers. ...
- Step 8: Apply Changes.
GCC and G++ are both used for compiling C and C++ languages. However, GCC is used for compiling C programs while G++ is used for compiling C++ programs. G++ automatically links files in the libraries of std C++ during object file linking, which does not happen with GCC.
How do I know if G ++ is installed on Windows? ›
To check if it is installed or not, open Command Prompt and type g++ --version.
What compiler should I use for C++? ›
If you are targeting Windows, the Microsoft C++ compiler (MSVC) may be the way to go. This is the default compiler for most Visual Studio C++ projects and is recommended if you are targeting Windows. Compiler options for the Microsoft C++ compiler.
Which C++ version does G ++ support? ›
Regarding language version support for C++ and C, since GCC 11.1 the default target is gnu++17, a superset of C++17, and gnu11, a superset of C11, with strict standard support also available. GCC also provides experimental support for C++20 and C++23.
How to setup C++? ›
- To install a C++ compiler in a Windows environment, download the Microsoft's "Visual Studio" from the Visual Studio website. This will download a full IDE, including an editor, debugger and build systems.
- To access your C++ compiler follow the C++ section in Visual Studio's Getting Started guide.
Installing GCC on Windows and setting the PATH variable is a straightforward process. With GCC installed, you can now start developing and compiling programs in various programming languages. Remember to always double-check the PATH variable to ensure that the system can locate the GCC compiler.
Why is the G++ command not working? ›
That just means the compiler executable is not in the PATH. You'll need to add it to the PATH environment variable. Just go to where it's installed and find the g++.exe and add that folder.
The error "'gcc' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.” occurs for two primary reasons: Reason 1: Absence of the gcc compiler on your computer. The solution is to simply install it. Reason 2: The Compiler path is not included in your system's 'PATH' environment variable.
Is G ++ backwards compatible? ›
In order to allow compilation of C++ written to such drafts, G++ contains some backwards compatibilities. All such backwards compatibility features are liable to disappear in future versions of G++.
How to get the version of C++ from G ++? ›
Most compilers have options to output the version; many will output it systematically in verbose mode. For g++, try g++ --version . Recent versions of g++ do have some support for C++11, but you have to activate it with -std=c++0x (rather than the usual -std=c++03 or -std=c++98 ).
Does G ++ work with C? ›
gcc is used to compile C program. g++ can compile any . c or . cpp files but they will be treated as C++ files only.
How do I enable C ++ 23 in G ++? ›
To enable C++23 support, add the command-line parameter -std=c++2b to your g++ command line. Or, to enable GNU extensions in addition to C++23 features, add -std=gnu++2b . Important: Because the ISO C++23 standard is still evolving, GCC's support is experimental.
