Setting up Code::Blocks and MINGW, A Free C and C++ Compiler, on Windows

By Thomas Carriero 

This tutorial gives you easy-to-follow instructions, with screenshots, for setting up a compiler (the MINGW compiler), a tool that will let you turn the code that you write into programs, and Code::Blocks, a free development environment for C and C++. This tutorial explains how to install Code::Blocks on Windows 2000, XP, Vista or Windows 7. Note: if you're running Linux, go here to learn how to use GCC; if you're on OS X,go here to get set up using Apple XCode.

Step 1: Download Code::Blocks

• Go to this website: http://www.codeblocks.org/downloads
• Follow the link to "Download the binary release" (direct link)
• Go to the Windows 2000 / XP / Vista / 7 section
• Look for the file that includes mingw in the name. (The name as of this writing was codeblocks-10.05mingw-setup.exe; the 10.05 may be different).
• Save the file to your desktop. It is roughly 74 megabytes.