Starting C Development Using Eclipse

Eclipse is a very popular and most commonly used Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Mainly famous in Java commuity, Eclipse is also widely used for many other programming language, which in our case is C. This tutorial is specific to C development. Eclipse can use available compilers to compile C code in integrated mode. We can make use of Microsoft .NET compilers, Cygwin, or any other suitable compiler that is available. In this tutorial, we will make use of Minimalist GNU for Windows (MinGW), a complete Open Source programming tool set. The first step will be to download and install Eclipse available at :

http://mirror.bit.edu.cn/eclipse/technology/epp/downloads/release/luna/R/eclipse-cpp-luna-R-win32.zip

After downloading eclipse, we only need to uncompress the file using any suitable software, such as Winzip or Winrar. Please make sure that Java is already installed on your computer. Eclipse is developed in Java and required an appropriate version of Java installation on the system. Please also add Java bin directory to PATH environment variable and also set JAVA_HOME and JRE_HOME environment variables as shown in figure below:

Second step will be to download and install MinGW available at:

 http://www.mingw.org/.

Or specifically, we used following link:

http://cznic.dl.sourceforge.net/project/mingw/Installer/mingw-get-setup.exe

Execute the downloaded executable and select the options as shown in figure below:

After installation, please make sure that the bin folder of the MinGW is added to Path variable in system variables as shown in figure below:

Double click on eclipse.exe in Eclipse folder to start Eclipse. Eclipse will ask you to select a workspace. Workspace is the directory, where Eclipse will store all the sources of your projects that you will create in Eclipse IDE.

You will see a welcome screen after IDE is started.

First step in Eclipse is to create a C Project.

Give your project an appropriate name.

On next dialog, simply click finish button.

On the left side of IDE, you can click the project explorer button as shown in figure below:

This will open the Project Explorer window. The next step will be to add .c source file to the project.

Right click on project folder and select New -> Source File as shown in figure below:

Give your source file a suitable name with .c extension.

After clicking the finish button, the source file will open in the window.

Write you program in the source file.

Build your project using the Project -> Build Project menu as shown in figure below:

If there are any error in your project, you will see them in console window below. If you don't see any error, your are ready to execute your project/program using Run -> Run menu as shown in figure below:

The output of your project will appear in the console window below. You can also use the same window for input of your program.

Notepad++ as editor for C Development

Notepad++ is a very powerful text editor. For beginners of programming, it could be an alternative to basic notepad editor available on Windows. This tutorial is specific to C development. Notepad++ can use available compilers to compile C code in integrated mode. In this tutorial, we will make use of Minimalist GNU for Windows (MinGW), a complete Open Source programming tool set. The first step will be to download and install Notepad++ available at:
http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Second step will be to download and install MinGW available at:

 http://www.mingw.org/.

Or specifically, we used following link:

http://cznic.dl.sourceforge.net/project/mingw/Installer/mingw-get-setup.exe

Execute the downloaded executable and select the options as shown in figure below:

After installation, please make sure that the bin folder of the MinGW is added to Path variable in system variables as shown in figure below:

Similarly, install the Notepad++. After installation, open the editor. You can also select the language for your source code file using Language menu or Notepad++ will automatically detect it using the extension of your source file, which in our case is .c

To use Notepad++ for integrated compilation and execution of C Source Code on command prompt. Will need a Plugin with name NppExec. To open Plugin Manager, use Plugins -> Plugin Manager -> Show Plugin Manager menu. Select the NppExec from the list of plugins as shown in figure below and install it.

Now you are ready to set the plugin for integrated compilation and execution of the code. Write the source code that you want to compile and execute. Use Plugins -> NppExec -> Execute menu as show in figure below:

Add following script in the opened dialog box:

NPP_SAVE
cd "$(CURRENT_DIRECTORY)"
cmd /c del "$(NAME_PART).exe"
gcc "$(FILE_NAME)" -o $(NAME_PART)
NPP_RUN $(NAME_PART)

Also shown in figure below:

As you press OK. The program will be compiled and executed. A console will appear below the text window, which will display the compilation process and any compilation errors, if may occur. If compilation completes successfully, as separate command prompt window will open and will execute you program. However, you should be careful to check if program compiled successfully or not. Above given script will execute the old program file even when compilation fails.

Two relevant online resources used in making this tutorial are:

Compile with Notepad++ (Any language)
http://windowsbro.blogspot.com/2012/10/compile-with-notepad-any-language.html

How to compile C++ code in Notepad++ with gcc/g++
http://daleswanson.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-to-compile-c-code-in-notepad-with.html

Happy C programming with Notepad++