Eclipse IDE for C Programming

Several different compilers are available to you, depending on your computer’s operating system and requirements.

  • All the assignments for this course will need GNU Compiler Collection (gcc) compiler. Generally, you can use Cygwin/Xcode developer tools for most assignments, but some may require a Linux GCC compiler.
  • If you are comfortable with Eclipse, install it on your computer system by following the instructions from Bohr1. For GCC compiler, we will connect the docker container gcc setup above to Eclipse.

  • Once Eclipse is installed, there is a docker plugin for Eclipse, using which you can perform many of the mentioned Docker tasks from within Eclipse. To install the plugin in Eclipse, from the menu, click on Help –> install –> Eclipse Marketplace –> Search for Eclipse Docker Tooling and install it.

  • You can switch to the Docker Tooling perspective (either click on the Open Perspective toolbar button at the top-right of the editor window or select from the Window | Perspective | Open Perspective | Other menu).

  • Make sure your CDT for Eclipse is set up, open the perspective, and create a C programming project.

  • Open the Project Properties by right-clicking Project > Properties.

  • In Properties, select C/C++ Build > Settings and open the Container Settings tab to set the following:

    • Configuration: Default [Active]
    • Connection: http://localhost:2375 for Windows and on Mac unix:///var/run/docker.sock
    • Image: gcc:latest (or any other name that you are using for docker containers)

  • Check Build Inside Docker Image.

  • Select the docker image to use. If there are no images listed, verify that Docker is running.

  • Click Apply and Close

  • To compile the program: Click the Build Icon and Confirm that the console prints “Running in image…”

  • To run the program, either:

      • Create a Run Configuration with Run > Run Configurations.
      • Create a new C/C++ Container Launcher.
      • Pass the arguments needed, such as file names.
      • On the container tab, verify the gcc:latest image selected and click on Run.

    OR

    1. Right-click on the project –> Build Targets –> Create Targets and under that, create a name of the target, e.g., runq1 and command make as given below:

    Click save and select the target to run the program under Build Targets.

  • Click the Run icon.

  • Confirm that the console prints Running in image....

  • If you chose to use WSL, then you can add Ubuntu Terminal to Eclipse:
  • On Eclipse: Navigate to Windows -> Preferences -> Terminal -> Local Terminal
  • Add the following entry
  • name: WSL Bash
  • path: C:\Windows\System32\wsl.exe
  • On the Project Explorer: On any file, right-click -> show in… -> WLS Bash.
  • It will open the project folder in the Terminal, and you can use the Makefile commands to execute your code.

Footnotes

  1. Thanks to Mr. David Brown.↩︎