A Short Tutorial to Compiling C Code in Visual C++ 2005

Ben Hermens - hermens@eecs.oregonstate.edu



Install Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition:

Download the installer and run it from: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualc/
It does not appear that it is necessary to install the Platform SDK when you're just writing simple C programs.




Open the program and create a new project:

File->New->Project...
From the "Project types" tree, select "Win32".

Select the "Win32 Console Application" template.

Name the project and select a folder to save it in.

Click Ok.

In the resulting window, click "Next >".

Check the "Empty Project" box.

Click Finish.




Add files to the project:

In the Solution Explorer subwindow,
Right click on the project name and select:
New Item:
From the "Categories" tree, select "Code".
-OR-
Click "Add".




To make the compiler treat the code as C and not C++:

In the Solution Explorer subwindow,
Right click on the project name and select "Properties".

Expand the "C/C++" group of the tree.

Select "Advanced".

Change the option: "Compile As" from "C++ Code" to "C Code".




Build (compile and link) your program:

Press F7



Run the program:

Press Ctrl-F5