Currently, I'm trying to write C/C program in Visual Studio code. For this I've installed two extensions: C/C & C Intellisense. As per the documentation, the debugging facility is not available for windows. I've been able to build and run the code with the following tasks. Once the Visual Studio Installer is downloaded and installed, choose the.NET workload and click on the Modify/Install button: After the installation is complete, click on the Launch button to get started with Visual Studio. On the start window, choose Create a new project. Then click on the 'Install more tools and features' button.

C# IDE

The easiest way to get started with C#, is to use an IDE.

An IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is used to edit and compile code.

In our tutorial, we will use Visual Studio Community, which is free to download from https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/community/.

Applications written in C# use the .NET Framework, so it makes sense to use Visual Studio, as the program, the framework, and the language, are all created by Microsoft.

C# Install

Once the Visual Studio Installer is downloaded and installed, choose the .NET workload and click on the Modify/Install button:

After the installation is complete, click on the Launch button to get started with Visual Studio.

Visual Studio Code C# Go To Definition Not Working

On the start window, choose Create a new project:

Then click on the 'Install more tools and features' button:

Choose 'Console App (.NET Core)' from the list and click on the Next button:

Enter a name for your project, and click on the Create button:

Visual Studio will automatically generate some code for your project:

The code should look something like this:

Don't worry if you don't understand the code above - we will discuss it in detail in later chapters. For now, focus on how to run the code.

Run the program by pressing the F5 button on your keyboard (or click on 'Debug' -> 'Start Debugging'). This will compile and execute your code. The result will look something to this:

Congratulations! You have now written and executed your first C# program.

Learning C# At W3Schools

When learning C# at W3Schools.com, you can use our 'Try it Yourself' tool, which shows both the code and the result. This will make it easier for you to understand every part as we move forward:

Program.cs

Result:

Create C# Project In Vs Code

C/C++ support for Visual Studio Code is provided by a Microsoft C/C++ extension to enable cross-platform C and C++ development on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Install the extension

1. Open VS Code.
2. Select the Extensions view icon on the Activity bar or use the keyboard shortcut (⇧⌘X (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+X)).
3. Search for 'C++'.
4. Select Install.

After you install the extension, when you open or create a *.cpp file, you will have syntax highlighting (colorization), smart completions and hovers (IntelliSense), and error checking.

Install a compiler

C++ is a compiled language meaning your program's source code must be translated (compiled) before it can be run on your computer. VS Code is first and foremost an editor, and relies on command-line tools to do much of the development workflow. The C/C++ extension does not include a C++ compiler or debugger. You will need to install these tools or use those already installed on your computer.

There may already be a C++ compiler and debugger provided by your academic or work development environment. Check with your instructors or colleagues for guidance on installing the recommended C++ toolset (compiler, debugger, project system, linter).

Some platforms, such as Linux or macOS, have a C++ compiler already installed. Most Linux distributions have the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) installed and macOS users can get the Clang tools with XCode.

Check if you have a compiler installed

Make sure your compiler executable is in your platform path (%PATH on Windows, $PATH on Linux and macOS) so that the C/C++ extension can find it. You can check availability of your C++ tools by opening the Integrated Terminal (⌃` (Windows, Linux Ctrl+`)) in VS Code and trying to directly run the compiler.

Checking for the GCC compiler g++:

Checking for the Clang compiler clang:

Note: If you would prefer a full Integrated Development Environment (IDE), with built-in compilation, debugging, and project templates (File > New Project), there are many options available, such as the Visual Studio Community edition.

If you don't have a compiler installed, in the example below, we describe how to install the Minimalist GNU for Windows (MinGW) C++ tools (compiler and debugger). MinGW is a popular, free toolset for Windows. If you are running VS Code on another platform, you can read the C++ tutorials, which cover C++ configurations for Linux and macOS.

Example: Install MinGW-x64

We will install Mingw-w64 via the SourceForge website. You can use this Mingw-w64 link to download the Windows Mingw-w64 installer.

1. Run the installer, which should be named mingw-w64-install.exe in your Download folder.

2. For Architecture select x86_64 and then select Next.

3. On the Installation Folder page, use the default location for the Destination folder. Copy the location as you will need it later.

4. Select Next to start the installation.

Add the MinGW compiler to your path

Add the path to your Mingw-w64 bin folder to the Windows PATH environment variable by using the following steps:

1. In the Windows search bar, type 'settings' to open your Windows Settings.
2. Search for Edit environment variables for your account.
3. Choose the Path variable and then select Edit.
4. Select New and add the Mingw-w64 destination folder path, with mingw64bin appended, to the system path. The exact path depends on which version of Mingw-w64 you have installed and where you installed it. If you used the settings above to install Mingw-w64, then add this to the path: C:Program Filesmingw-w64x86_64-8.1.0-posix-seh-rt_v6-rev0mingw64bin.
5. Select OK to save the updated PATH. You will need to reopen any console windows for the new PATH location to be available.

Download Visual Studio Code C#

Check your MinGW installation

To check that your Mingw-w64 tools are correctly installed and available, open a new Command Prompt and type:

If you don't see the expected output or g++ or gdb is not a recognized command, check your installation (Windows Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features) and make sure your PATH entry matches the Mingw-w64 binary location where the compiler tools are located.

Hello World

To make sure the compiler is installed and configured correctly, we'll create the simplest Hello World C++ program.

Create a folder called 'HelloWorld' and open VS Code in that folder (code . opens VS Code in the current folder):

Now create a new file called helloworld.cpp with the New File button in the File Explorer or File > New File command.

Add Hello World source code

Now paste in this source code:

Now press ⌘S (Windows, Linux Ctrl+S) to save the file. You can also enable Auto Save to automatically save your file changes, by checking Auto Save in the main File menu.

Build Hello World

Now that we have a simple C++ program, let's build it. Select the Terminal > Run Build Task command (⇧⌘B (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+B)) from the main menu.

This will display a dropdown with various compiler task options. If you are using a GCC toolset like MinGW, you would choose C/C++: g++.exe build active file.

This will compile helloworld.cpp and create an executable file called helloworld.exe, which will appear in the File Explorer.

Run Hello World

From a command prompt or a new VS Code Integrated Terminal, you can now run your program by typing '.helloworld'.

Visual Studio Code Download

If everything is set up correctly, you should see the output 'Hello World'.

This has been a very simple example to help you get started with C++ development in VS Code. The next step is to try one of the tutorials listed below on your platform (Windows, Linux, or macOS) with your preferred toolset (GCC, Clang, Microsoft C++) and learn more about the Microsoft C/C++ extension's language features such as IntelliSense, code navigation, build configuration, and debugging.

Tutorials

Get started with C++ and VS Code with tutorials for your environment:

Documentation

You can find more documentation on using the Microsoft C/C++ extension under the C++ section of the VS Code website, where you'll find topics on:

Remote Development

VS Code and the C++ extension support Remote Development allowing you to work over SSH on a remote machine or VM, inside a Docker container, or in the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).

To install support for Remote Development:

1. Install the VS Code Remote Development Extension Pack.
2. If the remote source files are hosted in WSL, use the Remote - WSL extension.
3. If you are connecting to a remote machine with SSH, use the Remote - SSH extension.
4. If the remote source files are hosted in a container (for example, Docker), use the Remote - Containers extension.

Feedback

If you run into any issues or have suggestions for the Microsoft C/C++ extension, please file issues and suggestions on GitHub. If you haven't already provided feedback, please take this quick survey to help shape this extension for your needs.