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Environment Setup and the First Program ​

Getting started is the hardest part — but the setup itself shouldn't be what trips you up. In this chapter we'll build a development environment from zero: whether you're on Linux or Windows, you're only a few steps away from ready. Then we'll go hands-on right away with our first C++ program, watch the whole compile-and-run cycle with our own eyes, and walk away with an intuitive first impression of the language.

This chapter is written for readers with zero C++ experience. If you already have a toolchain that works for you, skip the setup and start straight from the first program.

Just want to get things running as fast as possible, without agonizing over which route to pick? See the Getting Started track — one worry-free route, six hands-on articles, and you're done. This chapter is the detailed multi-route edition (MSVC vs MinGW, vcpkg, Linux), there for when you want to understand why each step is the way it is, or when you need to compare the options.

Chapter Contents ​

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