Apple’s Xcode development system is superb for developing applications, but sometimes you just want to write C or C code for research or school. Composing with vi is no longer acceptable, so. Even if you developed your app using something other than a Mac, you will need a Mac to compile the final product that is uploaded to the App Store. Xcode is the primary tool for macOS and iOS.
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Apple’s Xcode development system is superb for developing applications, but sometimes you just want to write C or C++ code for research or school. Composing a serious chunk of code with vi is no longer acceptable,* so users in this frame of mind are now using Eclipse, a modern IDE, that’s also free. Here’s how to get gcc without installing Apple’s Xcode and then install Eclipse for C/C++ programming.
What’s the Motivation?
At work recently, my wife was chatting with a colleague who was taking his first C++ class. She taught him how to use Eclipse on a Mac, even though he resisted at first. However, later, he came back and commented that the other students were trying to manage ever increasingly complex projects with the vi editor. It was taking them four, six, or even 20 hours in some cases to complete their homework each week. He finished his, typically, in 30 minutes. That’s the power of an IDE with a modern debugger. That last item, the debugger, can’t be emphasized enough. Print statements in your code are oh, so yesteryear with a tool like this. Time is money, and efficiency reflects on you as a programmer.
So if you’re a scientist, researcher or engineer who wants to write some research code, not intended as a GUI app, in Java, C, C++ or Fortran, you need to dump vi as an editor* (or Emacs or Nedit or whatever) immediately and get with this kind of IDE. Things are moving far too fast nowadays not to make this important move. (Clearly, I’m speaking to an older crowd here.**)
To be perfectly clear, Apple’s Xcode is a fabulous development system for C, C++, Objective-C and even Fortran 77***. You can build native OS X and iOS apps. But many researchers and scientists aren’t interested in Xcode. They’ve come from a Linux or other UNIX platform, like IBM’s AIX, and they just want to carry on their research in Eclipse on a Mac. This how-to is primarily for them. But, as I mentioned above, students who are taking their first programming class and own a Mac will also find this discussion useful — indeed mandatory. Remember, this is an introduction to whet your appetite and get you launched, not a complete Eclipse tutorial.
Also, this how-to for the sake of simplicity focuses on C/C++, but Eclipse can handle a myriad of languages, including, but not limited to, Java and Fortran. Let’s start with C/C++.
Getting the gcc Compiler
As an aside, when you install Apple’s Xcode (free from the Mac App Store only in Lion), gcc is automatically installed in /usr/bin. But if you have a mind to work with just Eclipse and gcc, you’ll need a way to install gcc without, if it pleases you, installing Apple’s Xcode first. (For reference, here’s a how-to on installing Xcode and gcc.)
There are at least two places I know of where you can get a gcc installer package for OS X:
- The OS X High Performance Computing page at Sourceforge managed by Dr. Gaurav Khanna at the University of Mass.
If you find other sources, let us know.
Installing Eclipse
Here’s a handy reference on where to get Eclipse for the Mac. Version 3.7 (“Indigo”) installs nicely in Lion and seems to work okay, but our household hasn’t put it to a grueling acid test with OS X 10.7.1.
Eclipse Download for CC++, 64-bit
The download is a …tar.gz file, so move it where you want the Eclipse directory to be because when you double click it, the package will be unzipped and untared right there. After Eclipse is installed, you’ll see it as an app, just like any other, with this icon.
It’s easy to create an alias to eclipse.app, if you wish, and place it in your /Application directory. Because the Eclipse IDE itself is written in Java, if you’re running a clean copy of Lion, you’ll need to download the Java runtime before the Eclipse app will launch. Just double-click on Eclipse, and it’ll trigger the required Java runtime download. Nothing else to do. If you’re in Snow Leopard, the Java runtime is already there.
Java runtime download
This first thing you’ll see when you run Eclipse is that it asks for the location of your workspace. I typically create a directory in /Users/john called Programming where I do any code development. (Which is not much these days.)
Workspace Selection
After you select your workspace, you’ll be confronted with an Eclipse peculiarity. A welcome page will be launched that brings a real feeling of WTF to many users. Here it is.
Welcome screen
The trick is to realize that the icon on the far right, circled in red above, takes you into the workbench. For that named workspace, this one time is the only time you’ll see that screen.
Once the IDE is launched, there are just a few details before you can build a project. Again, for simplicity, lets stay with C/C++. From the Eclipse File menu, select “New” and then C++ Project.
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Eclipse - New Project
Experienced Eclipse users know the drill. Name the project, make sure you’ve identified the location of your compiler in the Toolchain, and so on. (It may be different than the default install by Apple’s Xcode. The screen shot below shows Apple’s install of gcc, marked as MacOSX GCC, because I’d previously installed Xcode on that Mac.)
Configuration
Newbies may want to select the Hello World project just to see how things get set up. Make sure you work your way through the setup with Next > at the bottom and don’t click the Finish button too soon. A more detailed examination of this set up and the ins-and-outs of Eclipse are beyond the scope of this getting started article. The goal here is simply an introduction for Mac users. And you’re not alone. There’s a huge body of knowledge on the Internet about Eclipse. Here’s a start.
If all went well, you’ll be in the Eclipse IDE with the Hello World program in the editor and a Make file already created. This environment is called the Eclipse workbench.
Eclipse Workbench w/ default “Hello World” code
It may take you some start-up time to learn Eclipse, but trust me, coding the old way will soon bog you down. The Xcode and Eclipse developers learn from each other, so if you ever decide to get into OS X or iOS development, having earned your wings in Eclipse will pay huge dividends later.
__________________
* I’m qualified to say this because I’ve lived and breathed vi for a living in the past.
** Remember, a lot of people are going back to school, learning or refreshing their programming skills.
*** You can write and compile Fortran 77 in Xcode with standard output, but you can’t access the Cocoa APIs and build native apps in F77.
When you tap into programming the operating system is an essential aspect you should not overlook. Even though an OS should not restrict you from using your preferred language it’s useful to read the options before you make your move.
Over the years people are so confused with all sides of this argument, saying that, “<platform name> is the best or that or this.” So this is an effort to clear the cloud abovve your what is best for your development purpose, this article poses the differences in each platform in relation to general web development.
The competing operating systems are these three: iOS, Linux, & Windows.
But first break down programming in following sections.
(i) Coding Language (C, C++, Python, Java and so on)
There are many languages to choose when you start coding, it can be any language and since there are a plethora of IDE platforms for Linux based distribution, Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s Mac OS. It doesn’t matter because people who used Windows for over 5 and more year are coding on Linux and don’t yearn Mac. When your focus is on programming and code writing, you probably won’t like the plethora of background services and multitasking makes it hard to focus on coding. When you use Linux the current app takes the whole place and somehow it manages to put all the focus on a single work; which is coding in your case. When you want a true, monolithic experience in programming, go for Linux. But why stick with Linux when you know coding is not dependent on operating system. You like Windows, use it. If you love Linux, chose any distribution. Do you have a Mac on your desk, nothing wrong to use it?
(ii) Operating System Level
For this category, you have to select dedicated Operating System.
When you’re developing a Windows program (.exe) you must go with Windows as you can test it and more importantly you’ll know how it will work.
Want to Develop Linux then go with Linux Distributions and there is also Many Distributions and their factors are different but target a distribution and learn all things and then Linux will be easy to use.
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For developing Mac Apps, using Mac OS is advisable.
Choice That you have.
- Windows use IDEs like Net Beans, Visual Basic, Code Blocks, Dev C++ (and plenty of more to choose from)
- Linux (Ubuntu 18.04) use Code Blocks and Net Beans.
- Android Development is very easy with Android Studio both in Windows and Linux (Ubuntu) no problem there, both are flexible.
Operating System doesn’t matter for programming!
For example, you would be able to run all program including — whether it be C++, Python, Java, Pascal or anything else on every operating system. When you solely want to focus on programming you may want a simple lightweight Operating System and a compiler(or an interpreter) to run your program!
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Cross-Platform Features
- Most languages can be developed on any platform
- Most IDE’s and other developer tools are cross-platform (within reason)
- All Platforms (that I know of) can use Git
- Most platforms have the ability to run another platform along-side or within themselves, in some way. (Usually via a 3rd party application)
iOS Features
- Almost everything is visually well polished
- Things are not free, you’ve got to pay
- You can use Photoshop
- Is POSIX
- Ability to install programs via GUI by default
- Useful apps are pre-installed
- Upgrades to major version every year
- Not large portion of Web servers use this platform, but it is closely related to the most commonly used platform.
Linux Features
- Most things are open source (aka free-for-developers)
- Has a “sink or swim” learning curve (aka not typical-user friendly)
- Has a dozen Photoshop alternatives, but no Photoshop
- Is POSIX
- Typically installs programs via CLI by default (fast)
- Some useful applications pre-installed with minimal bloatware, if any.
- Typically upgrades major version every 1 or 2 years, occasionally less. (easily installed)
- Most servers use some variation of this platform
Windows Features
- Most products/services are designed for this platform
- Has many security issues
- Can use Photoshop
- Is not POSIX
- Installs programs via GUI by default (slow)
- Few useful applications pre-installed. Unless you install the OS, it always has a lot of bloatware.
- Upgrades major version two or three times in a decade, occasionally more/less. (pain in the *** almost every time)
- Some servers use this platform
Features source.
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Choose Linux to focus
If you choose Linux as your programming operating system then some best Linux distribution is as follows. It’s easy to setup C++ development environment to compile and run using Eclipse IDE. If you’re interested check the following guide.
You’ve seen it’s easy to setup Eclipse (pre-configured for Java) to work with C++ projects. Linux allows a wide range of IDE you can choose from, it all depends on your demands.
For that, you’ll need a Linux Distro that can download from Ubuntu Software store, so the working Distro is Ubuntu, Pop OS, elementary OS, Kubuntu, Lubuntu and so on. Moreover, you can always sideload your favorite IDE on most of the Linux distributions.
Pop! OS is developer focused
Pop OS is developer focused Linux based operating system. The interface is elegant and it’s easy to get used to it compared to Ubuntu or other distributions. It comes preloaded with so many tools for programming and coding that you’ll find yourself tinkering with. One solid pro is that the operating system is around developers, but in fact, anyone who can use Ubuntu would be happy to use this distribution as well.
Arch Linux is the all-you-do type.
The Arch Linux has a wide fan base, it comes with latest Linux Kernel and package manager. It’s easy to install apps using terminal from the app store. With arch Linux, you’ll have to gather things and choose components. You can customize it to make an operating system for programming and development purposes. The Arch community is consist of people having experience in programming, you get the company and help them so no worries.
the operating system is a one-time installation with always up to date bleeding edge distro repository. On every month (first week) you get system update, and you can choose to install them automatically letting you work more on the development and worry less about system stability and security.
Penetration can also be done by converting Arch Linux into BlackArch installation with help of some instructions.
You should use Arch Linux because of its flexibility to adapt to your preference. Especially when you have used a Linux before, don’t you think it’ll be awesome to build a personal system?
Windows 10.. Errrr..
Windows is widely used, accepted and pirated operating system and you can use it for development and programming purpose. People who choose Linux over Windows always complain about the background process that it runs makes less resource available for programming apps. When you have to work with Visual Studio (Microsoft Azure) windows might be a better and suitable choice. A lot of developers first build Mac apps then make a version for Windows platform, so there is not a big learning curve when you shift from MAC to Windows, as Windows is widely available and you can install it on cheap machines, unlike MAC.
An operating system should not limit you in your coding and compiling tasks. Rather, now you have a better understanding that Linux may offer you a better platform for sharp coding and programming skills. If you’re a company or a team then you acknowledge building a cross-platform is essential for survival, in that case, divide your team to work on different operating system app versions.
Contents
- Choose Linux to focus