Introduction of
Turbo C IDE and Programming Environment
THEORY
The Development
Environment - Integrated Development Environment (IDE):
The Turbo C compiler has its own
built-in text editor. The files you create with text editor are called source
files, and for C++ they typically are named with the extension .CPP, .CP, or
.C.
The C Developing Environment,
also called as Programmer’s Platform, is a screen display with windows and
pull-down menus. The program listing, error messages and other information are
displayed in separate windows. The menus may be used to invoke all the
operations necessary to develop the program, including editing, compiling,
linking, and debugging and program execution.
To invoke the IDE from the
windows you need to double click the TC icon in the directory c:\tc\bin.
The alternate approach is that we
can make a shortcut of tc.exe on the desktop. This makes you enter the IDE
interface, which initially displays only a menu bar at the top of the screen and
a status line below will appear. The menu bar displays the menu names and the
status line tells what various function keys will do.
Default
Directory
The default directory of Turbo C
compiler is c:\tc\bin.
Using Menus
If the menu bar is inactive, it
may be invoked by pressing the [F10] function key. To select different menu,
move the highlight left or right with cursor (arrow) keys. You can also revoke
the selection by pressing the key combination for the specific menu.
Opening New
Window
To type a program, you need to
open an Edit Window. For this, open file menu and click “new”. A window will
appear on the screen where the program may be typed.
Writing
a Program
When the Edit window is active,
the program may be typed. Use the certain key combinations to perform specific
edit functions.
Saving a Program
To save the program, select save
command from the file menu. This function can also be performed by
pressing the [F2] button. A dialog box will appear asking for the path and name
of the file. Provide an appropriate and unique file name. You can save the
program after compiling too but saving it before compilation is more
appropriate.
Making an
Executable File
The source file is required to be
turned into an executable file. This is called “Making” of the .exe file. The
steps required to create an executable file are:
1. Create a source
file, with a .c extension.
2. Compile the
source code into a file with the .obj extension.
3. Link your .obj
file with any needed libraries to produce an executable program.
All the above steps can be done
by using Run option from the menu bar or using key
combination Ctrl+F9 (By this
linking & compiling is done in one step).
Compiling the
Source Code
Although the source code in your
file is somewhat cryptic, and anyone who doesn't know C will struggle to
understand what it is for, it is still in what we call human-readable form.
But, for the computer to understand this source code, it must be converted into
machine-readable form. This is done by using a compiler. Hence, compiling is
the process in which source code is translated into machine understandable
language.
It can be done by selecting
Compile option from menu bar or using key combination Alt+F9.
Creating an
Executable File with the Linker
After your source code is compiled,
an object file is produced. This file is often named with the extension .OBJ.
This is still not an executable program, however. To turn this into an
executable program, you must run your linker. C programs are typically created
by linking together one or more OBJ files with one or more libraries. A library
is a collection of linkable files that were supplied with your compiler.
The Development
Cycle
If every program worked the first
time you tried it that would be the complete development cycle: Write the
program, compile the source code, link the program, and run it.
Unfortunately, almost every
program, no matter how trivial, can and will have errors, or bugs, in the
program. Some bugs will cause the compile to fail, some will cause the link to
fail, and some will only show up when you run the program.
Whatever type of bug you find,
you must fix it, and that involves editing your source code, recompiling and
relinking, and then rerunning the program.
Exiting IDE
An Edit window may be closed in a
number of different ways. You can click on the small square in the upper left
corner, you can select close from the window menu, or you can
press the [Alt][F3] combination. To exit from the IDE, select [Alt][X]
Combination.
EXERCISE
Exit from the File
Menu or press
1. Type the following program in
C Editor and execute it. Mention the Error.
void
main(void)
{
printf(“
This is my first program in C ”);
}
Error: Function ‘
printf ’ should have a prototype.
2.Add
the following line at the beginning of the above program. Recompile the
program.
What is the output?
#include<stdio.h>
Ans:
#include <stdio.h>
void main()
{
printf (“ This is my first program”);
}
Output:-
This is my first program in C.
3.
Make the following changes to the
program. What Errors are observed?
i.
Write Void instead of void .
Ans:
Error: Declaration syntax error.
ii.
write void main (void);
Ans:
Error :Declaration terminated
incorrectly.
iii.
Remove the semi colon ‘;’.
Ans:
Error: Statement missing.
iv.
Erase any one of brace ‘{’ or ‘}’.
Ans:
Error (1): Declaration
syntax error
Error (2): Unexpected }.
Compiling and
linking in the IDE
In the Turbo C IDE, compiling and
linking can be performed together in one step. There are two ways to do this:
you can select Make EXE from the compile menu, or you can press the [F9] key.
Executing a
Program
If the program is compiled and
linked without errors, the program is executed by selecting Run from the Run
Menu or by pressing the [Ctrl+F9] key combination.
Correcting
Errors
If the compiler recognizes some
error, it will let you know through the Compiler window. You’ll see that the
number of errors is not listed as 0, and the word “Error” appears instead of
the word “Success” at the bottom of the window. The errors are to be removed by
returning to the edit window. Usually these errors are a result of a typing
mistake. The compiler will not only tell you what you did wrong; they’ll point
you to the exact place in your code where you made the mistake.
