Installing C/C++ Development Tools on a Windows Platform

In order to build and debug C/C++ executables and libraries on the Windows platform, a minimal set of development tools must be installed. These tools are not bundled with the NetBeans C/C++ plugin. This how-to tells how to install the Cygwin versions of these tools.

For more information about working with C/C++ applications in the NetBeans IDE, see the C/C++ Applications Learning Trail page on the NetBeans web site.

Tutorial Requirements

Before you proceed, make sure you review the requirements in this section.

Installing the Cygwin Build Tools

To install the GNU compilers, make, and gdb debugger from cygwin.com:

1. Download the Cygwin setup.exe program by clicking the Install or Update Now! icon in the middle of the page.
2. Run the setup.exe program. Accept the defaults until you reach the Select Your Internet Connection page. Select the option on this page that is best for you. Click Next.
3. On the Choose Download Site page, choose a download site you think might be relatively close to you. Click Next.
4. On the Select Packages page you select the packages to download. Click the + next to Devel to expand the development tools category. You may want to resize the window so you can see more of it at one time.
5. Select each package you want to download by clicking the Skip label next to it. At a minimum, select gcc-core: C compiler, gcc-g++: C++ compiler, gdb: The GNU Debugger, and make: the GNU version of the make utility.
6. Now add the compiler directory to your path:
   
   
   1. Open the Control Panel (Start > Settings > Control Panel) and double-click the System program.
   2. Select the Advanced tab and click Environment Variables.
   3. In the System Variables panel of the Environment Variables dialog, select the Path variable and click Edit.
   4. Add the path to the cygwin-directory\bin directory to the Path variable, and click OK. By default, cygwin-directory is C:\cygwin. Directory names must be separated with a semicolon.
   5. Click OK in the Environment Variables dialog and the System Properties dialog.

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Further Information

The Cygwin build tools are one of two fully supported sets of Build tools for Windows. The other set is MinGW. MinGW users must also download portions of the MSYS environment. Refer to the MinGW website for details about downloading and installing MinGW and MSYS.