How to compile and run C++ program on Windows OS

Compile and run C++ programming on your OS

C++ is completely free and readily available on all platforms.
Follow the tutorial below for running C++ on your computer.
There are multiple compilers and text editors you can use to run C++ programming. These may differ from system to system.
If you want a quick start, you can also run C++ program online.

Run C++ in Windows (XP, 7, 8 and 10)

To run C++ Programming in Windows, you’d need to download Code::Blocks.
There are others available as well but Code::Blocks makes installation a piece of cake.
It’s easy, simple and developer friendly.
To make this procedure even easier, follow this step by step guide.

1. Go to the binary release download page of Code:Blocks official site.
   
2. Under Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8.x / 10 section, click the link with mingw-setup highlighted row either from Sourceforge.net or FossHub.
3. Open the Code::Blocks Setup file and follow the instructions (Next > I agree > Next > Install); you don’t need to change anything. This installs the Code::Blocks with gnu gcc compiler, which is the best compiler to start with for beginners.
4. Now, open Code::Blocks and go to File > New > Empty file (Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+N)
   
5. Write the C++ code and save the file with .cpp extension. To save the file, go to File > Save (Shortcut: Ctrl+S). Important: The filename should end with .cpp extension, like: hello.cpp, your-program-name.cpp
   
6. To run the program, go to Build > Build and Run (Shortcut: F9). This will build the executable file and run it.

If your program doesn’t run and if you see error message "can't find compiler executable in your search path(GNU GCC compiler)",  go to Settings > Compiler > Toolchain executables  and click Auto-detect. This should solve the issue in most cases.

Alternatively, you can download and use c++ compiler from the link shown below and follow the same procedures
Download 

Your first C++ program

Now you have installed the compiler based on your OS, it’s time to write your first C++ program.

“Hello World!”

Your first C++ program will be a “Hello World!” program.
You might have noticed “Hello World!” being the first program while starting out with any programming language. This is because:

• It is a standard check to see whether everything is working fine or not.
• There will be very less code to start with.
• The less code makes it intuitive for the beginners to get acquainted with the language.
• The code is enough to learn the basic syntax and semantics of the language.

So, let’s get coding.

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
    cout<<"Hello World!";
    return 0;
}

The program prints Hello World! in the output screen.