C++ Get Started

Install a compiler

• Linux: sudo apt install g++ (or clang).
• macOS: xcode-select --install (installs clang).
• Windows: Visual Studio Community ("Desktop development with C++"), or MSYS2 for g++.

Compile and run

C++ is compiled to a native executable:

g++ -std=c++20 -Wall -Wextra -O2 main.cpp -o main
./main

-Wall -Wextra turn on warnings — always read them.

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    std::cout << "C++ standard: " << __cplusplus << '\n';
    std::cout << "Compiled and running!\n";
}

C++ standard: 202002
Compiled and running!

Build systems

Real projects use CMake to describe how to build on every platform:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20)
project(hello CXX)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
add_executable(hello main.cpp)