Member Avatar for jeffige

First let me say sorry to all the experts out there. I just don't know where else to turn. A friend of mine who was teaching me c, even set up borlands compiler for me on my laptop, quit the tour that I am on. My old laptop crashed I have read all I can on installing and using the compiler. I just can't get it.

I want to learn c++ but am not able to actually go to school right now since my job keeps me on tour 11 months out of the year. I keep getting the window that says:

Microsoft<R> Windows DOS
<c>copyright Microsoft Corp 1990-2001

C:Users\Masters~1>

I want to learn c++ so bad I'm losing my hair. And my wife keeps giving me those funny looks. Thanks for any help any one can give...

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Ancient Dragon

Dani AI

Generated

A few practical notes that pick up from , and and show a simple path forward.

The line shown (Microsoft(R) Windows DOS ... C:\Users\Masters~1>) is just the Windows command prompt showing the current folder — not an error. It means no IDE/compiler GUI was launched; the system is waiting for commands. Old DOS-era compilers (Turbo/Borland) are not suitable for learning modern, standard C++. As suggested, use a current toolchain and IDE rather than those legacy packages. was right that an IDE helps; on Windows the easiest beginner options are a full IDE or a simple GCC toolchain plus an editor.

Quick practical routes:

  • Full-featured IDE (easy install + debugger): Visual Studio Community.
  • Lightweight GCC toolchain: MinGW-w64 or MSYS2 (g++). Pair with Code::Blocks or a simple editor.
  • No-install experimentation: Compiler Explorer or online runners for immediate testing.

Example minimal command-line workflow (after installing MinGW-w64 or MSYS2 and adding the compiler bin folder to PATH):

g++ --version

g++ hello.cpp -o hello
hello      # or .\hello.exe on some shells

Example hello.cpp:

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    std::cout << "Hello, world!\n";
    return 0;
}

Troubleshooting tips: run g++ --version to confirm the compiler is on PATH; if the command is not found, add the MinGW/MSYS2 bin directory to the PATH environment variable. Save source files with a .cpp extension and build from the folder that contains them. For reference and standard documentation, cppreference is a reliable, up-to-date resource. Avoid DOS-era compilers for modern learning — they teach nonstandard behavior and interfere with portable C++ practice.

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Member Avatar for codeaa

I use Eclipse (http://www.eclipse.org/). It's more popular with Java but works quite well with C++.

If you're having trouble with Borland you might consider a switch.

You'll have to download Eclipse and then download the CDT for c/c++ support here: http://www.eclipse.org/cdt/downloads.php.

Member Avatar for Ancient Dragon

Are you using ancient Tubto C or Tubro C++ compiler? Those two compilers are sooooo old that they aren't of any value to learn c++. Toss them out and download one of the free modern compilers. and Microsoft VC++ 2008 are both good ones. There are others too, such as Eclipse, mentioned by codeaa above.

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