JMU
Using MinGW in the CS Labs


1 Introduction

The JMU Computer Science Department's labs currently support C++ software development using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) under Minimalist GNU for Windows (MinGW). This document describes how to use this development environment. It assumes that you already understand, in a general sense, how to use: an editor to create files, the G++ compiler to compile and link classes/applications, and the GNU make utility to manage projects.

You can access the MinGW tools in three ways:

each of which is discussed below.

2 Using the MSYS Shell

The MSYS shell is a Unix-like (limited Bourne) shell that can be used under MS-Windows. The MSYS shell can be accessed from the Start menu (under All Programs-MinGW-MSYS). To use the MSYS shell you need to be aware of the following:

3 Using the MS-Windows Shell

The MS-Windows shell (i.e., cmd.exe can be accessed from the Start menu by choosing run and entering cmd.exe in the dialog box. To use the MSYS shell you need to be aware of the following:

4 Using jGRASP

jGRASP can be accessed from the Start menu (under All Programs-jGRASP). To use jGRASP you need to be aware of the following:

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