Setting up a lab environment with vscode for c programming language

Requirements

1. Windows OS
2. Stable Internet Connection

About VsCode

VSCode (Visual Studio Code) is a powerful Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that offers extensive support for extensions and customization. VSCode features built-in syntax highlighting and auto-completion, which greatly enhance the understanding and writing of code in any programming language.

About MinGW (Minimal GNU)

MinGW is a collection of open-source development tools for Windows that includes the GNU Compiler Collection(GCC) and other essential utilities from GNU softwares.

Procedure

1. Download vscode installer form official website, and run the installer with administrator permisions.
2. Accept the license agreement and click on Next > Next > Install. After Installation successfully complete click on Finish.
3. Download mingw installer form sourceforge, and run the installer with administrator permisions.
4. Then click on Install > Continue. This will install latest version of mingw installer manager.
5. After installation complete click on Continue. MinGW installer manager will open itself, now right click on mingw32-base form the package list and select Mark for Installaion.
6. Now from menubar click on Installation and select Apply changes, a prompt will pop up, select Apply. This will install latest GNU base binaries. After Installion completes click on Close and quit the Manager.
7. After Successfully installing MinGW we also need to export the directory(to the PATH variable) where MinGW binaries are installed.
8. Search for Edit the system environment variables, open it and click on Environment Variables... and click Edit > New and add the location of binaries where you you installed MinGW, which in our case is default to C:\MinGW\bin. After adding click OK > OK > OK.
9. VsCode and MinGw is Successfully installed on your systems.

Extension Requred for vscode

1. C/C++ Extension Pack
2. Code Runner

Recomended Settings

Enabling "Run in Terminal"

Click on Setting(or CTR+,) form left bottom bar and select Settings > Extensions > Run Code Configuration and serach for Run in Terminal and enable it. This will run your code in linux like terminal which will give you more control over your vscode.

Runing you first code

Writing Hello world in C
Copy the following code into the vscode editor and save it.

#include <stido.h>

int main(){
  printf("Hello, World!\n");
  return 0;
}

Now click on Run button, placed on Top-Right corner of tab bar. Your Program will run and will output "Hello, World!" onto terminal tab.