Compiling a .cpp file with c++ command instead of g++ (Linux) - c++

Let's say we have a simple c++ file named hello.cpp which prints "Hello World!".
We generally create the executable using g++ hello.cpp. When I tried executing the command c++ hello.cpp it creates the executable successfully. Shouldn't it throw an error saying there is no c++ command available? and suggest us to use g++?
I tried running man c++ on the terminal, this brings up the GNU C Project page. So, does the terminal replace our c++ hello.cpp with g++ hello.cpp internally? It shouldn't do that right?
Additional Info:
Similarly, if I have a hello.c program that prints "Hello World!". When I execute c hello.c on the command line, I get the error:
$ c hello.c
c: command not found
This is expected since we have to use gcc hello.c. Why am not getting a similar error for the c++ hello.cpp?

On my Ubuntu system, I see this:
$ ls -l /usr/bin/c++
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 May 6 2019 /usr/bin/c++ -> /etc/alternatives/c++
$ ls -l /etc/alternatives/c++
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 12 May 6 2019 /etc/alternatives/c++ -> /usr/bin/g++
So c++ is actually an alias (symbolic link) to g++
The alternatives system allows changing what compiler c++ is an alias to:
$ update-alternatives --display c++
c++ - auto mode
link best version is /usr/bin/g++
link currently points to /usr/bin/g++
link c++ is /usr/bin/c++
slave c++.1.gz is /usr/share/man/man1/c++.1.gz
/usr/bin/clang++ - priority 10
/usr/bin/g++ - priority 20
slave c++.1.gz: /usr/share/man/man1/g++.1.gz
So c++ could actually be either g++ or clang++
For a C compiler, you don't want the c command, but cc, which again, could be either gcc or clang.
My CentOS system isn't quite so obvious with the symlinks, but g++ --version and c++ --version give the same output and both say they are g++. However, cc is a direct symlink to gcc there.

Shouldn't it throw an error saying there is no c++ command available? and suggest us to use g++?
Weeelll, there are no regulations or standards that restrict or require c++ command to do anything, so there is no "should" or "shouldn't". However, it would be strongly expected that c++ is a working C++ compatible compiler, that supports similar or same flags as cc does.
does the terminal replace our c++ hello.cpp with g++ hello.cpp internally?
A terminal is the device that displays things. Terminal does not replace it, it has no effect on it.
Most probably your system designer, but maybe administrator or publisher or distributor or package designer (or anyone in the chain), configured your system to provide a command named c++. Usually, that command is a symbolic link to a working C++ compiler, usually g++ on Linux systems. On my system, /usr/bin/c++ program is just installed with package named gcc, but some systems allow it to be configurable.
It shouldn't do that right?
As stated above, terminal shouldn't replace commands, it has no effect on it.
This is expected since
It is expected since there is no command named c. There are endless other unknown commands.
cc is the good old name for a C compiler. c99 is the standardized name of C99 compatible compiler.
Why am not getting a similar error for the c++ hello.cpp?
Because a command named c++ exists on your system.

Related

compiling string with GCC fives linker errors [duplicate]

What is the difference between g++ and gcc? Which one of them should be used for general c++ development?
gcc and g++ are compiler-drivers of the GNU Compiler Collection (which was once upon a time just the GNU C Compiler).
Even though they automatically determine which backends (cc1 cc1plus ...) to call depending on the file-type, unless overridden with -x language, they have some differences.
The probably most important difference in their defaults is which libraries they link against automatically.
According to GCC's online documentation link options and how g++ is invoked, g++ is equivalent to gcc -xc++ -lstdc++ -shared-libgcc (the 1st is a compiler option, the 2nd two are linker options). This can be checked by running both with the -v option (it displays the backend toolchain commands being run).
GCC: GNU Compiler Collection
Referrers to all the different languages that are supported by the GNU compiler.
gcc: GNU C      Compiler
g++: GNU C++ Compiler
The main differences:
gcc will compile: *.c\*.cpp files as C and C++ respectively.
g++ will compile: *.c\*.cpp files but they will all be treated as C++ files.
Also if you use g++ to link the object files it automatically links in the std C++ libraries (gcc does not do this).
gcc compiling C files has fewer predefined macros.
gcc compiling *.cpp and g++ compiling *.c\*.cpp files has a few extra macros.
Extra Macros when compiling *.cpp files:
#define __GXX_WEAK__ 1
#define __cplusplus 1
#define __DEPRECATED 1
#define __GNUG__ 4
#define __EXCEPTIONS 1
#define __private_extern__ extern
For c++ you should use g++.
It's the same compiler (e.g. the GNU compiler collection). GCC or G++ just choose a different front-end with different default options.
In a nutshell: if you use g++ the frontend will tell the linker that you may want to link with the C++ standard libraries. The gcc frontend won't do that (also it could link with them if you pass the right command line options).
What is the difference between g++ and gcc?
gcc has evolved from a single language "GNU C Compiler" to be a multi-language "GNU Compiler Collection". The term gcc may still sometimes refer to the "GNU C Compiler" in the context of C programming.
man gcc
# GCC(1) GNU
#
# NAME
# gcc - GNU project C and C++ compiler
However, g++ is the C++ compiler for the GNU Compiler Collection. Like gnat is the Ada compiler for gcc. see Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)
For example, the Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 man g++ command returns the GCC(1) manual page.
The Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 man gcc states that ...
g++ accepts mostly the same options as gcc
and that the default ...
... use of gcc does not add the C++ library. g++ is a program
that calls GCC and automatically specifies linking against the C++
library. It treats .c, .h and .i files as C++ source files instead of
C source files unless -x is used. This program is also useful when
precompiling a C header file with a .h extension for use in C++
compilations.
Search the gcc man pages for more details on the option variances between gcc and g++.
Which one should be used for general c++ development?
Technically, either gcc or g++ can be used for general C++ development with applicable option settings. However, the g++ default behavior is naturally aligned to a C++ development.
The Ubuntu 18.04 'gcc' man page added, and Ubuntu 20.04 continues to have, the following paragraph:
The usual way to run GCC is to run the executable called gcc, or machine-gcc when cross-compiling, or machine-gcc-version to run a specific version of GCC. When you compile C++ programs, you should invoke GCC as g++ instead.
Side Note: In the case of the Xcode.app embedded toolchain, g++ simply links to gcc. Thus, g++ invocations may vary on a per-toolchain basis.
ls -l /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin
# …
# lrwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 3 Apr 27 2021 g++ -> gcc
# -rwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 167120 Nov 23 20:51 gcc
### -- versus --
which -a g++
# /usr/bin/g++
ls -l /usr/bin/g++
# -rwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 137616 Jan 1 2020 /usr/bin/g++
One notable difference is that if you pass a .c file to gcc it will compile as C.
The default behavior of g++ is to treat .c files as C++ (unless -x c is specified).
Although the gcc and g++ commands do very similar things, g++ is designed to be the command you'd invoke to compile a C++ program; it's intended to automatically do the right thing.
Behind the scenes, they're really the same program. As I understand, both decide whether to compile a program as C or as C++ based on the filename extension. Both are capable of linking against the C++ standard library, but only g++ does this by default. So if you have a program written in C++ that doesn't happen to need to link against the standard library, gcc will happen to do the right thing; but then, so would g++. So there's really no reason not to use g++ for general C++ development.
I became interested in the issue and perform some experiments
I found that description here, but it is very short.
Then I tried to experiment with gcc.exe and g++.exe on my windows machine:
$ g++ --version | head -n1
g++.exe (gcc-4.6.3 release with patches [build 20121012 by perlmingw.sf.net]) 4.6.3
$ gcc --version | head -n1
gcc.exe (gcc-4.6.3 release with patches [build 20121012 by perlmingw.sf.net]) 4.6.3
I tried to compile c89, c99, and c++1998 simple test files and It's work well for me with correct extensions matching for language
gcc -std=c99 test_c99.c
gcc -std=c89 test_c89.c
g++ -std=c++98 test_cpp.cpp
gcc -std=c++98 test_cpp.cpp
But when I try to run "gnu compiler collection" tool in that fashion:
$ gcc -std=c++98 test_cpp.c
cc1.exe: warning: command line option '-std=c++98' is valid for C++/ObjC++ but not for C [enabled by default]
But this one still work with no errors
$ gcc -x c++ -std=c++98 test_cpp.c
And this also
$ g++ -std=c++0x test_cpp_11.cpp
p.s. Test files
$ cat test_c89.c test_c99.c test_cpp.cpp
// C89 compatible file
int main()
{
int x[] = {0, 2};
return sizeof(x);
}
// C99 compatible file
int main()
{
int x[] = {[1]=2};
return sizeof(x);
}
// C++1998,2003 compatible file
class X{};
int main()
{
X x;
return sizeof(x);
}
// C++11
#include <vector>
enum class Color : int{red,green,blue}; // scoped enum
int main()
{
std::vector<int> a {1,2,3}; // bracket initialization
return 0;
}
Findings:
If look at process tree then it seems that gcc, and g++ is backend to other tools, which in my environment are: cc1plus.exe, cc1.exe, collect2.exe, as.exe, ld.exe
gcc works fine as metatool for if you have correct extension or set correct
-std -x flags. See this
“GCC” is a common shorthand term for the GNU Compiler Collection. This is both the most general name for the compiler, and the name used when the emphasis is on compiling C programs (as the abbreviation formerly stood for “GNU C Compiler”).
When referring to C++ compilation, it is usual to call the compiler “G++”. Since there is only one compiler, it is also accurate to call it “GCC” no matter what the language context; however, the term “G++” is more useful when the emphasis is on compiling C++ programs.
You could read more here.
I was testing gcc and g++ in a linux system. By using MAKEFILE, I can define the compliler used by "GNU make". I tested with the so called "dynamic memory" locating feature of "C plus plus" by :
int main(){
int * myptr = new int;
* myptr = 1;
printf("myptr[0] is %i\n",*myptr);
return 0;
}
Only g++ can successfully compile on my computer while gcc will report error
undefined reference to `operator new(unsigned long)'
So my own conclusion is gcc does not fully support "C plus plus". It seems that choosing g++ for C++ source files is a better option.
gcc and g ++ are both GNU compiler. They both compile c and c++. The difference is for *.c files gcc treats it as a c program, and g++ sees it as a c ++ program. *.cpp files are considered to be c ++ programs. c++ is a super set of c and the syntax is more strict, so be careful about the suffix.

gcc-11 macOS doesn't compile [duplicate]

What is the difference between g++ and gcc? Which one of them should be used for general c++ development?
gcc and g++ are compiler-drivers of the GNU Compiler Collection (which was once upon a time just the GNU C Compiler).
Even though they automatically determine which backends (cc1 cc1plus ...) to call depending on the file-type, unless overridden with -x language, they have some differences.
The probably most important difference in their defaults is which libraries they link against automatically.
According to GCC's online documentation link options and how g++ is invoked, g++ is equivalent to gcc -xc++ -lstdc++ -shared-libgcc (the 1st is a compiler option, the 2nd two are linker options). This can be checked by running both with the -v option (it displays the backend toolchain commands being run).
GCC: GNU Compiler Collection
Referrers to all the different languages that are supported by the GNU compiler.
gcc: GNU C      Compiler
g++: GNU C++ Compiler
The main differences:
gcc will compile: *.c\*.cpp files as C and C++ respectively.
g++ will compile: *.c\*.cpp files but they will all be treated as C++ files.
Also if you use g++ to link the object files it automatically links in the std C++ libraries (gcc does not do this).
gcc compiling C files has fewer predefined macros.
gcc compiling *.cpp and g++ compiling *.c\*.cpp files has a few extra macros.
Extra Macros when compiling *.cpp files:
#define __GXX_WEAK__ 1
#define __cplusplus 1
#define __DEPRECATED 1
#define __GNUG__ 4
#define __EXCEPTIONS 1
#define __private_extern__ extern
For c++ you should use g++.
It's the same compiler (e.g. the GNU compiler collection). GCC or G++ just choose a different front-end with different default options.
In a nutshell: if you use g++ the frontend will tell the linker that you may want to link with the C++ standard libraries. The gcc frontend won't do that (also it could link with them if you pass the right command line options).
What is the difference between g++ and gcc?
gcc has evolved from a single language "GNU C Compiler" to be a multi-language "GNU Compiler Collection". The term gcc may still sometimes refer to the "GNU C Compiler" in the context of C programming.
man gcc
# GCC(1) GNU
#
# NAME
# gcc - GNU project C and C++ compiler
However, g++ is the C++ compiler for the GNU Compiler Collection. Like gnat is the Ada compiler for gcc. see Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)
For example, the Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 man g++ command returns the GCC(1) manual page.
The Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 man gcc states that ...
g++ accepts mostly the same options as gcc
and that the default ...
... use of gcc does not add the C++ library. g++ is a program
that calls GCC and automatically specifies linking against the C++
library. It treats .c, .h and .i files as C++ source files instead of
C source files unless -x is used. This program is also useful when
precompiling a C header file with a .h extension for use in C++
compilations.
Search the gcc man pages for more details on the option variances between gcc and g++.
Which one should be used for general c++ development?
Technically, either gcc or g++ can be used for general C++ development with applicable option settings. However, the g++ default behavior is naturally aligned to a C++ development.
The Ubuntu 18.04 'gcc' man page added, and Ubuntu 20.04 continues to have, the following paragraph:
The usual way to run GCC is to run the executable called gcc, or machine-gcc when cross-compiling, or machine-gcc-version to run a specific version of GCC. When you compile C++ programs, you should invoke GCC as g++ instead.
Side Note: In the case of the Xcode.app embedded toolchain, g++ simply links to gcc. Thus, g++ invocations may vary on a per-toolchain basis.
ls -l /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin
# …
# lrwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 3 Apr 27 2021 g++ -> gcc
# -rwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 167120 Nov 23 20:51 gcc
### -- versus --
which -a g++
# /usr/bin/g++
ls -l /usr/bin/g++
# -rwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 137616 Jan 1 2020 /usr/bin/g++
One notable difference is that if you pass a .c file to gcc it will compile as C.
The default behavior of g++ is to treat .c files as C++ (unless -x c is specified).
Although the gcc and g++ commands do very similar things, g++ is designed to be the command you'd invoke to compile a C++ program; it's intended to automatically do the right thing.
Behind the scenes, they're really the same program. As I understand, both decide whether to compile a program as C or as C++ based on the filename extension. Both are capable of linking against the C++ standard library, but only g++ does this by default. So if you have a program written in C++ that doesn't happen to need to link against the standard library, gcc will happen to do the right thing; but then, so would g++. So there's really no reason not to use g++ for general C++ development.
I became interested in the issue and perform some experiments
I found that description here, but it is very short.
Then I tried to experiment with gcc.exe and g++.exe on my windows machine:
$ g++ --version | head -n1
g++.exe (gcc-4.6.3 release with patches [build 20121012 by perlmingw.sf.net]) 4.6.3
$ gcc --version | head -n1
gcc.exe (gcc-4.6.3 release with patches [build 20121012 by perlmingw.sf.net]) 4.6.3
I tried to compile c89, c99, and c++1998 simple test files and It's work well for me with correct extensions matching for language
gcc -std=c99 test_c99.c
gcc -std=c89 test_c89.c
g++ -std=c++98 test_cpp.cpp
gcc -std=c++98 test_cpp.cpp
But when I try to run "gnu compiler collection" tool in that fashion:
$ gcc -std=c++98 test_cpp.c
cc1.exe: warning: command line option '-std=c++98' is valid for C++/ObjC++ but not for C [enabled by default]
But this one still work with no errors
$ gcc -x c++ -std=c++98 test_cpp.c
And this also
$ g++ -std=c++0x test_cpp_11.cpp
p.s. Test files
$ cat test_c89.c test_c99.c test_cpp.cpp
// C89 compatible file
int main()
{
int x[] = {0, 2};
return sizeof(x);
}
// C99 compatible file
int main()
{
int x[] = {[1]=2};
return sizeof(x);
}
// C++1998,2003 compatible file
class X{};
int main()
{
X x;
return sizeof(x);
}
// C++11
#include <vector>
enum class Color : int{red,green,blue}; // scoped enum
int main()
{
std::vector<int> a {1,2,3}; // bracket initialization
return 0;
}
Findings:
If look at process tree then it seems that gcc, and g++ is backend to other tools, which in my environment are: cc1plus.exe, cc1.exe, collect2.exe, as.exe, ld.exe
gcc works fine as metatool for if you have correct extension or set correct
-std -x flags. See this
“GCC” is a common shorthand term for the GNU Compiler Collection. This is both the most general name for the compiler, and the name used when the emphasis is on compiling C programs (as the abbreviation formerly stood for “GNU C Compiler”).
When referring to C++ compilation, it is usual to call the compiler “G++”. Since there is only one compiler, it is also accurate to call it “GCC” no matter what the language context; however, the term “G++” is more useful when the emphasis is on compiling C++ programs.
You could read more here.
I was testing gcc and g++ in a linux system. By using MAKEFILE, I can define the compliler used by "GNU make". I tested with the so called "dynamic memory" locating feature of "C plus plus" by :
int main(){
int * myptr = new int;
* myptr = 1;
printf("myptr[0] is %i\n",*myptr);
return 0;
}
Only g++ can successfully compile on my computer while gcc will report error
undefined reference to `operator new(unsigned long)'
So my own conclusion is gcc does not fully support "C plus plus". It seems that choosing g++ for C++ source files is a better option.
gcc and g ++ are both GNU compiler. They both compile c and c++. The difference is for *.c files gcc treats it as a c program, and g++ sees it as a c ++ program. *.cpp files are considered to be c ++ programs. c++ is a super set of c and the syntax is more strict, so be careful about the suffix.

i was trying to execute a simple c++ program in vs code but this gives me a lot of errors. also the colour of the "cout" keyword is not changing [duplicate]

What is the difference between g++ and gcc? Which one of them should be used for general c++ development?
gcc and g++ are compiler-drivers of the GNU Compiler Collection (which was once upon a time just the GNU C Compiler).
Even though they automatically determine which backends (cc1 cc1plus ...) to call depending on the file-type, unless overridden with -x language, they have some differences.
The probably most important difference in their defaults is which libraries they link against automatically.
According to GCC's online documentation link options and how g++ is invoked, g++ is equivalent to gcc -xc++ -lstdc++ -shared-libgcc (the 1st is a compiler option, the 2nd two are linker options). This can be checked by running both with the -v option (it displays the backend toolchain commands being run).
GCC: GNU Compiler Collection
Referrers to all the different languages that are supported by the GNU compiler.
gcc: GNU C      Compiler
g++: GNU C++ Compiler
The main differences:
gcc will compile: *.c\*.cpp files as C and C++ respectively.
g++ will compile: *.c\*.cpp files but they will all be treated as C++ files.
Also if you use g++ to link the object files it automatically links in the std C++ libraries (gcc does not do this).
gcc compiling C files has fewer predefined macros.
gcc compiling *.cpp and g++ compiling *.c\*.cpp files has a few extra macros.
Extra Macros when compiling *.cpp files:
#define __GXX_WEAK__ 1
#define __cplusplus 1
#define __DEPRECATED 1
#define __GNUG__ 4
#define __EXCEPTIONS 1
#define __private_extern__ extern
For c++ you should use g++.
It's the same compiler (e.g. the GNU compiler collection). GCC or G++ just choose a different front-end with different default options.
In a nutshell: if you use g++ the frontend will tell the linker that you may want to link with the C++ standard libraries. The gcc frontend won't do that (also it could link with them if you pass the right command line options).
What is the difference between g++ and gcc?
gcc has evolved from a single language "GNU C Compiler" to be a multi-language "GNU Compiler Collection". The term gcc may still sometimes refer to the "GNU C Compiler" in the context of C programming.
man gcc
# GCC(1) GNU
#
# NAME
# gcc - GNU project C and C++ compiler
However, g++ is the C++ compiler for the GNU Compiler Collection. Like gnat is the Ada compiler for gcc. see Using the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC)
For example, the Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 man g++ command returns the GCC(1) manual page.
The Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 man gcc states that ...
g++ accepts mostly the same options as gcc
and that the default ...
... use of gcc does not add the C++ library. g++ is a program
that calls GCC and automatically specifies linking against the C++
library. It treats .c, .h and .i files as C++ source files instead of
C source files unless -x is used. This program is also useful when
precompiling a C header file with a .h extension for use in C++
compilations.
Search the gcc man pages for more details on the option variances between gcc and g++.
Which one should be used for general c++ development?
Technically, either gcc or g++ can be used for general C++ development with applicable option settings. However, the g++ default behavior is naturally aligned to a C++ development.
The Ubuntu 18.04 'gcc' man page added, and Ubuntu 20.04 continues to have, the following paragraph:
The usual way to run GCC is to run the executable called gcc, or machine-gcc when cross-compiling, or machine-gcc-version to run a specific version of GCC. When you compile C++ programs, you should invoke GCC as g++ instead.
Side Note: In the case of the Xcode.app embedded toolchain, g++ simply links to gcc. Thus, g++ invocations may vary on a per-toolchain basis.
ls -l /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin
# …
# lrwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 3 Apr 27 2021 g++ -> gcc
# -rwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 167120 Nov 23 20:51 gcc
### -- versus --
which -a g++
# /usr/bin/g++
ls -l /usr/bin/g++
# -rwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 137616 Jan 1 2020 /usr/bin/g++
One notable difference is that if you pass a .c file to gcc it will compile as C.
The default behavior of g++ is to treat .c files as C++ (unless -x c is specified).
Although the gcc and g++ commands do very similar things, g++ is designed to be the command you'd invoke to compile a C++ program; it's intended to automatically do the right thing.
Behind the scenes, they're really the same program. As I understand, both decide whether to compile a program as C or as C++ based on the filename extension. Both are capable of linking against the C++ standard library, but only g++ does this by default. So if you have a program written in C++ that doesn't happen to need to link against the standard library, gcc will happen to do the right thing; but then, so would g++. So there's really no reason not to use g++ for general C++ development.
I became interested in the issue and perform some experiments
I found that description here, but it is very short.
Then I tried to experiment with gcc.exe and g++.exe on my windows machine:
$ g++ --version | head -n1
g++.exe (gcc-4.6.3 release with patches [build 20121012 by perlmingw.sf.net]) 4.6.3
$ gcc --version | head -n1
gcc.exe (gcc-4.6.3 release with patches [build 20121012 by perlmingw.sf.net]) 4.6.3
I tried to compile c89, c99, and c++1998 simple test files and It's work well for me with correct extensions matching for language
gcc -std=c99 test_c99.c
gcc -std=c89 test_c89.c
g++ -std=c++98 test_cpp.cpp
gcc -std=c++98 test_cpp.cpp
But when I try to run "gnu compiler collection" tool in that fashion:
$ gcc -std=c++98 test_cpp.c
cc1.exe: warning: command line option '-std=c++98' is valid for C++/ObjC++ but not for C [enabled by default]
But this one still work with no errors
$ gcc -x c++ -std=c++98 test_cpp.c
And this also
$ g++ -std=c++0x test_cpp_11.cpp
p.s. Test files
$ cat test_c89.c test_c99.c test_cpp.cpp
// C89 compatible file
int main()
{
int x[] = {0, 2};
return sizeof(x);
}
// C99 compatible file
int main()
{
int x[] = {[1]=2};
return sizeof(x);
}
// C++1998,2003 compatible file
class X{};
int main()
{
X x;
return sizeof(x);
}
// C++11
#include <vector>
enum class Color : int{red,green,blue}; // scoped enum
int main()
{
std::vector<int> a {1,2,3}; // bracket initialization
return 0;
}
Findings:
If look at process tree then it seems that gcc, and g++ is backend to other tools, which in my environment are: cc1plus.exe, cc1.exe, collect2.exe, as.exe, ld.exe
gcc works fine as metatool for if you have correct extension or set correct
-std -x flags. See this
“GCC” is a common shorthand term for the GNU Compiler Collection. This is both the most general name for the compiler, and the name used when the emphasis is on compiling C programs (as the abbreviation formerly stood for “GNU C Compiler”).
When referring to C++ compilation, it is usual to call the compiler “G++”. Since there is only one compiler, it is also accurate to call it “GCC” no matter what the language context; however, the term “G++” is more useful when the emphasis is on compiling C++ programs.
You could read more here.
I was testing gcc and g++ in a linux system. By using MAKEFILE, I can define the compliler used by "GNU make". I tested with the so called "dynamic memory" locating feature of "C plus plus" by :
int main(){
int * myptr = new int;
* myptr = 1;
printf("myptr[0] is %i\n",*myptr);
return 0;
}
Only g++ can successfully compile on my computer while gcc will report error
undefined reference to `operator new(unsigned long)'
So my own conclusion is gcc does not fully support "C plus plus". It seems that choosing g++ for C++ source files is a better option.
gcc and g ++ are both GNU compiler. They both compile c and c++. The difference is for *.c files gcc treats it as a c program, and g++ sees it as a c ++ program. *.cpp files are considered to be c ++ programs. c++ is a super set of c and the syntax is more strict, so be careful about the suffix.

Configuring C++11/14 in Mac Terminal by default

I want to use c++11/14 features like range-based loops, but get a warning while doing g++ program.cpp. If done with compiler flag g++ -std=c++11 program.cpp the warning goes away. Is there a way to use c++11/14 by default on the g++ command (i.e without passing compiler flag every time).
Please explain to someone with limited knowledge of compilers and only need the c++11/14 features for competitive programming problems (even if it's a bad idea in general, maybe due to backward compatibility?)
Short Answer: Update your g++
According to g++ documentation
The default, if no C++ language dialect options are given, is -std=gnu++17.
You are probably using an older version of g++. You can check it using by running g++ --version in your terminal. If you are using Linux, you can also extract your default c++ standard from g++ manual with the command man g++ | col -b | grep -B 1 -e '-std.* default' in your terminal.
If you do not want to update your g++, you can also set a command alias by putting something like alias g+++='g++ -std=c++14' in your .bashrc
If you're using a gcc version > 4.9.3 use this command: g++ -std=c++14 program.cpp
If you're using an older version than that use g++ -std=c++1y program.cpp
Note: Consider adding the -Wall flag before program.cpp in your command to get warnings, they help you way more than you'd think!
Tip: If you're a starting developer and don't want too steep of a learning curve, try using an IDE before going full command-line.
EDIT: If you want a command to be "the default" you can add something like alias mycc='g++ -std=c++14 -Wall' in your .bashrc or .bash_profile file (see this link), then you'll be able to use mycc program.cpp

C++ code compiles, but shows an error when running on Zorin OS

I'm learning C++ and trying to run a simple hello world program. It compiles but it won't execute. It worked on Windows, but it won't run on Zorin OS.
I read online that the command to run it is ./test or ./test.exe.
This is what is looks like on the terminal:
$ g++ test.cpp -o test.exe
$ ./test
bash: ./test: No such file or directory
I looked at the questions similar to this, but none have helped me.
You can not expect to be able to execute the same commands on both Windows and Linux. They use different shells with different syntax and different behaviors.
Here's a typical example of compiling a file on GNU/Linux:
dir$ g++ myfile.cpp -o myfile
dir$ ./myfile
Here's a typical example of compiling the same file on Windows:
dir> g++ myfile.cpp -o myfile.exe
dir> myfile
Note in particular:
Linux doesn't use .exe or other extensions on executables, but Windows does.
Windows doesn't require specifying directory to run files in the working directory, but Bash on GNU/Linux generally does.
The only reason why the compilation command is as similar as it is is that g++ is a Unix tool ported to both platforms. Windows normally uses / instead of - for flags like -o
As commands get more complex, they start diverging even further.