Installing the C++ Environment

The following instructions are for Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Vista (Linux and other *nix environments should already contain a C++ compiler):

Install the C++ compiler via the Cygwin application:

* Open your browser and navigate to "http://www.cygwin.com/"
* Scroll down and find the link to "Install or update now"
* Click the link to download the setup.exe file and save it to your Desktop
* Click on setup.exe and click "Run"
* At the "Cygwin Setup" screen, click "next"
* At the "Choose Installation Type" screen, select "Install from the Internet" and click "next"
* At the "Choose Installation Directory" screen, take the default values and click "next"
* At the "Select Local Package Directory" screen, take the default entry and click "next"
* At the "Select Connection Type" screen, select "Use IE5 Settings" and click "next"
* At the "Choose Download Site(s)", any site should be OK but I recommend an EDU site close to your location. "http://www.gtlib.gatech.edu" usually works well. 
* The Cygwin packages will be downloaded from the site you selected. 
* When complete, at the "Select Packages" screen, Click on '+' icon next to "Devel".
* Scroll down the packages and click "Skip" under the "New" column on the row with "gcc-g++: C++ compiler".
* The "Skip" will change to the latest C++ compiler version and the square checkbox "Bin?" will be checked for both "gcc-g++" and "gcc-core".
* Take the remaining default values and click "next".
* At the "Resolve Dependencies" screen, accept the default values and click "next"
* Cygwin will then download the requested packages. Depending on you connection speed may from a few minutes to a half hour or more. During the download, the "Progress" screen is displayed and updated.
* If you have any problems, simply click "cancel" and try run "setup.exe" again.
* At the "Installation Status and Create Icons" screen, if you see a status of "Installation Complete", select "Create icon on Desktop" and click "finish".

Install the Programmer's File Editor (PFE) application:

* Open your browser and navigate to "http://www.lancs.ac.uk/staff/steveb/cpaap/pfe/pfefiles.htm"
* Click "The 32 Bit Edition" link
* At the "Opening pfe101i.zip" dialog, click "save".
* At the "Save As" dialog, select "Desktop"
* When the download is complete, go to the Desktop and double-click "pfe101i.zip"
* Extract all files to C:\pfe\

Set the environment variables (Windows XP and Vista):

* Click the “Start” button
* Open the “Control Panel” (“Settings >> Control Panel” in Windows 2000)
* Select “System” to open up the “System Properties”
* Select the “Advanced” tab
* Click the “Environment Variables…” button

WARNING!!! Be very careful NOT to delete anything in the existing "Path". Follow the instruction carefully and exactly. Pay attention to upper and lower case letters. Altering your "Path" incorrectly can cause your computer's software to stop working.

* Update the “Path” variable
* In the “System Variables (lower screen), select the “PATH” variable and click “Edit”.
* Click on the “Variable Value” field and press the “Home” key (this positions the cursor at the beginning of the field).
* Insert “C:\cygwin\bin;C:\pfe; ” in the “Variable Value” field being careful NOT to overwrite or remove any existing text. Type it exactly as quoted (omit the double quotes) and don’t forget the semicolons after “bin” and "pfe".
* Click “OK”

Command line test for the compiler and the editor:

* Click the “Start” button
* Select “Run”
* In the “Open” field, type “cmd” and click “OK”.
* Type "echo %PATH%" in the command window
* Depending on your installation directory, you should see something like:

"C:\cygwin\bin; C:\pfe;" at the beginning of the Path statement

* At the command line, type “pfe32" and press <enter>
* The PFE program should open.


Trouble?

Open a command line window and type:

set > set.txt 

This will create a file in your current directory called “set.txt” that contains the values of your environment variables. Send an email message including your evening phone number to jfleming@troy.edu and give me a “step-by-step” description of what your are doing and any messages or other symptoms about what's wrong. Attach screen shots, if available, and attach the “set.txt” file. I’ll call you back as soon as possible (usually that evening).