MinGW.... how to run it?????

[Jaskaran]

Ok...
So i downloaded the installer and chose everything under "basic" setup.
It installed following->

It went fine and I added the environment variable as "C:\MinGW\bin"

But now I dont know how to run this thing.
Please tell.

PS-> Newbie in C, just started today.

 

[krishnandu.sarkar]

Go to Command Prompt and run the command gcc and see if it finds the command. If yes, then everything is fine.

 

[Jaskaran]

Go to Command Prompt and run the command gcc and see if it finds the command. If yes, then everything is fine.

Its saying "gcc" is not recognized as an external or internal command... so i guess it did stuff incorrectly or missed something.
Please tell what did i miss.
I did following->
Downloaded executable and installed using basic setup (everything under basic setup selected for install).
Then set a new environment variable named TEMP2 with path as "C:\MinGW\bin" (thats where my MinGW package exists.)
So what did i do wrong?
Please help.


And one more question->
Should I switch to Bloodshed if its better for newbie like me? Or is MinGW better?

 

[Vyom]

Edit the environment variable named, "Path", dont create new one.
Edit the Path to include that bin directory after a semi colon in the end of existing value.

Something like this:

MinGW is definitely better for newbie. GUI will only be good once you had practice on command line.

 

[Jaskaran]

Edit the environment variable named, "Path", dont create new one.
Edit the Path to include that bin directory after a semi colon in the end of existing value.

Something like this:

MinGW is definitely better for newbie. GUI will only be good once you had practice on command line.

Thanks for reply.
So all I needed was basically to put a semicolon in end of path? (since I just copied and pasted path to bin directory) and name variable as PATH? (I am asking this cos I uninstalled MinGW out of frustration (just deleted the MinGW folder present in C:\ drive, is that correct way to remove it?). I may go on reinstalling it again but a question, I learned java on netbeans instead of eclipse and i think it was better to have a IDE since I dont really know much command line as i am newbie in C. Then why is using IDE in C is not better than command line?

 

[Vyom]

Thanks for reply.
So all I needed was basically to put a semicolon in end of path? (since I just copied and pasted path to bin directory) and name variable as PATH? (I am asking this cos I uninstalled MinGW out of frustration (just deleted the MinGW folder present in C:\ drive, is that correct way to remove it?). I may go on reinstalling it again but a question, I learned java on netbeans instead of eclipse and i think it was better to have a IDE since I dont really know much command line as i am newbie in C. Then why is using IDE in C is not better than command line?

Yes. You just needed to put a semicolon in the end of the existing paths of environment variable, "PATH". Frustration is never the solution. Patience is the key. Cliche, right? But it's true nevertheless.

If you installed MinGW from an installer just deleting it from Program files is not the right way. The entry for MinGW should be showing in "Program and Features". (I think you have Windows 8).

You being a newbie is the Exact reason why you should first use command line. "Anyone" can run a program on an IDE. Are you "anyone"?

 

[Jaskaran]

Yes. You just needed to put a semicolon in the end of the existing paths of environment variable, "PATH". Frustration is never the solution. Patience is the key. Cliche, right? But it's true nevertheless.

If you installed MinGW from an installer just deleting it from Program files is not the right way. The entry for MinGW should be showing in "Program and Features". (I think you have Windows 8).

You being a newbie is the Exact reason why you should first use command line. "Anyone" can run a program on an IDE. Are you "anyone"?

wow... those last two lines made my spine freeze
Thanks dude, but now that i deleted it simply, will reinstalling over it have any effect...?

AAh well.. i think a stupid question. I am going to reinstall it.
Thanks again.

 

[RBX]

Use
.;<other_path>;<etc>;

. denotes current directory. Also many programs alter the path themselves using something like PATH = PATH + <new app path>, so you need to put a ; at the end to avoid getting the two paths joined.