How to compile and run C and C++ code on Ubuntu desktop and server. If you have Ubuntu you already have g++ installed, which is C and C++ compiler. To check g++ version, simply launch your terminal and run the following command.

g++ --version

Install g++, C and C++ compiler on Ubuntu

In case it g++ is not installed on your system, run the following command to install g++

sudo apt update 

sudo apt install g++

sudo apt install build-essential

g++ --version

Write your C hello world code, using your favorite text editor.

// file name: test.c

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
	printf("Hello World\n");
	return 0;
}

Compile C code with g++ with terminal

Navigate to test.c and test.cpp directory using your terminal and run the following commands.

g++ test.c -o testc

Here -o flag is given to output executable file name

Run / Execute C program with terminal

./testc

Write your C++ hello world code

// file name: test.cpp
#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main(){
cout << "Hello World\n";

return 0;
}

Compile C++ code with g++ in Terminal

Navigate to test.c and test.cpp directory using your terminal and run the following commands.

g++ test.c -o testcp

Here -o flag is given to output executable file name

Run / Execute C++ program with terminal

./testcp

Install Make to compile C and C++ Faster

On Ubuntu Linux, you can install make tool to compile C and C++ code faster. Install make on Ubuntu with terminal.

sudo apt install make

Compile Code with Make

Compile C and C++ code with make, simply type make and file_name without extension like .c and .cpp

Run C and C++ Code with Terminal

./file_name

Watch me Compile and Execute C++ on Ubuntu