Hello, people, I am new to the site etc etc.....

I just have a quick question regarding compiling of C, I believe it simple (well not to me), and any help would be much appreciated.

Basically I am a beginner at C programming language and I am having difficult at compiling any code.

At the moment I placed the following code onto notepad and saved it as samp.c:

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
printf("This is output from my first program!\n");
return 0;
}


The problems is when I try to compile the code whether through cc or gcc, by doing gcc samp.c –o samp.exe I always get the following response:

“No such file or directory”

How do I overcome this problem ?? (also on my computer I have several dives)

Make sure your current working directory is the same directory where you have your samp.c file saved...

Just save your samp.c in something like c:\

Then go to Start -> Run, type cmd and press ENTER.

Then type c:\, press ENTER.

Then compile your program with gcc.

It doesn't have to be c:\, but you have to navigate to the directory. You can't just try to compile samp.c from anywhere. What if you have more than one file called samp.c on your harddrive? That's why the directory structure exists in the first place. Learn it, use it, own it.

The ANSI standard requires that the first C program that you write should print out "Hello, world!\n".

Typical rookie mistake.

-b

mjrich =>

when I do that it's says 'No Input file'


itsme86 - the files saved within my H drive, I've tried running it, by stating the complete address of the file, for example gcc h:\samp -o samp.exe, but I still get the same problem

bm17 - I try what you said but I don't see how it's going to make much of a difference

I was just joking about Hello World.

How did you install the compiler? Are you using Cygwin? If so, I think you need to be running in some sort of shell enviroment for unix commands to work. The README file or googling for "cygwin" should point you in the right direction.

gcc is a command-line program. You need to invoke it from the shell, or DOS prompt. Depending on what flavor of gcc it is, it will use certain environment variables to locate the files it needs in order to operate. For instance, it needs to know where to find the include files. You need to find out what kind of gcc installation this is.

Running raw gcc is an advanced issue if you are used to Windows packaged GUI applications. Perhaps you would be better served with a copy of Visual Studio. Failing that, find out who installed gcc, ask them where it came from, and then read the instructions for using it. I admit that this is a complicated problem, but gcc simply wasn't intended to be used directly from a windowed environment without running some sort of setup script first.

bm17 u r rite, that problem is complex but mine is not, it was the directory I placed it in...because now the file appears on the 'Command Prompt'

NEXT question is how do u run it ?? (which I'm trying as I speak or should I say 'as I write')

If you are just trying to experiment with the C language then you should create a DOS window/session (or command prompt, or whatever they call it these days) and type the name of the command (test). If you do not run it at the command prompt then you will not be able to see the output. I think that the cygwin compiler has an option to create a terminal window when you run the program, but I do not know how to invoke that option.

alright thanx I try that now....

There's no such thing.

That is not entirely true. The floating point binary format allows for several special values, including infinity, negative infinity, and NaN (Not a Number, or "undefined"). They are obscure and only heavy-math guys use them. I know how to use these values with C++ but C is not so clear to me. My understanding is that you include math.h and use the macro INFINITY. You can do a google search for "C language float infinity" for more information.

Most people's first programs do not take numeric cardinality into consideration. Good show!

But I suspect I am missing something here. In what context do you need to use infinity? Are you talking about an infinite loop?