The Sun NetBeans 6 IDE is a free development environment for Java, but is available for cross platform C/C++ development as well. The NetBeans 6 download is about 12MB and unpacks to about 55MB. Sun recommends using Cygwin C/C++, GMake, and GDB debugger. With some additional effort MinGW can be used as an alternative compiler on Windows machines. Users that choose MinGW will need MSYS support. This document gives a brief overview of the installation process. For a detailed explanation visit the NetBeans and Cygwin web sites.

Installing NetBeans 6 C/C++ Under Windows XP

You will need to download the Cygwin setup program from the Cygwin web site. The setup program will contact one of the Cygwin distribution sites and present a list of available packages. In the Development section check off the GCC, G++, MAKE, and GDB packages. Cygwin will download and install them for you. Verify that the installation has been performed correctly by looking for the Cygwin folder on your hard drive, then opening a console window and invoking the programs. If the Windows environment has been properly configured they should be in the path.

Download the NetBeans 6 C/C++ installation file or one of the larger packages that includes C/C++ support and run the installation file. NetBeans will be installed in its own folder. Start the NetBeans IDE and check the options settings. NetBeans will recognize the presence of GCC, G++, MAKE and GDB in the environment path and display them accordingly. If they have been installed but are not in the system path, you may need to manually enter the information.

Installing NetBeans 6 C/C++ Under Ubuntu Linux

The Ubuntu package managers make it simple to install GCC, G++, and MAKE. The Synaptic package manager is available in Ubuntu (Gnome), and Adept package manager is available in Kubuntu (KDE). If for some reason they are not available, install the packages using Debian’s Advanced Packaging Tool called apt-get. The typical Apt install command is: SUDO APT-GET INSTALL <package>.

Download the NetBeans C/C++ installation for Linux, or one of the larger packages that includes C/C++ support and execute the installation file. NetBeans will be installed in its own folder. Start the NetBeans IDE and check the option settings. The location of GCC, G++, MAKE and GDB should be displayed in the appropriate fields. If they are not, you may need to manually enter the information.

The NetBeans IDE Features

NetBeans 6 C/C++ has all the key features that you would expect from an IDE. A file explorer, project manager, and class browser are integrated. The editor supports code hints and code completion. The debugger commands are nicely placed. All of the window areas can be parked in the frame and easily reopened with a single mouse click. Code versioning based on CVS or Subversion is available from the toolbar if you have a versioning system installed. The NetBeans IDE is surprisingly responsive and snappy considering it is written in Java. Of course, you do need to have Java installed to run NetBeans. Java version 1.5 or later is recommended.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a cross platform C/C++ IDE you’d be hard pressed to find a better one than NetBeans 6. The best part is that NetBeans, GCC, and G++ are free. You can have a professional quality C/C++ development environment at no cost. Installation is simpler than with Eclipse and CDT. Overall the NetBeans 6 C/C++ IDE is a simpler environment than Eclipse, and could be easier for a first time user to get comfortable with. I would recommend trying it out to see if it fulfills your personal requirements.

References

Sun NetBeans 6 C/C++ Installation
http://www.netbeans.org/kb/60/cnd/setup-Windows.html

Cygwin
http://www.cygwin.com/

Tags: C++, NetBeans