Visual Studio Code, commonly referred to as VS Code, has emerged as a favorite among developers for its lightweight yet powerful features.
In this comprehensive blog post, we'll delve into what VS Code is, explore its advantages, guide you through the download process, and show you how to enhance its functionality for C/C++ development with extensions like MingW.
What is VS Code?
Visual Studio Code, developed by Microsoft, is a free, open-source code editor renowned for its versatility, extensibility, and robust features. Unlike traditional Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), VS Code is lightweight and optimized for a wide range of programming languages and frameworks.
It provides a rich set of features, including syntax highlighting, code completion, debugging support, version control integration, and an extensive library of extensions.
VS Code offers a modern and intuitive user interface designed to streamline the development workflow. Its customizable layout allows developers to tailor their environment to suit their preferences and requirements.
With built-in Git integration and support for various programming languages and frameworks, VS Code provides a seamless development experience for beginners and seasoned professionals alike.
More about VS Code
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Initial release | April 29, 2015; 6 years ago |
| Stable release | 1.57.0 (10 June 2021; 21 days ago) |
| Preview release | 1.55.0-insider |
| Written in | TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS |
| OS | Windows 7 or later, OS X 10.10 or later, Linux |
| Platform | IA-32, x86-64, ARM64 |
| Size | Windows: 40.8–68.3 MB Linux: 46.5–66.6 MB macOS: 67.5 MB |
| Available in | 14 languages |
| Type | Source code editor, debugger |
| License | Source code: MIT License[5] Binaries built by Microsoft: Proprietary software[6][7][8] |
| Website | code.visualstudio.com |
The Reason Why VS Code?
There are several compelling reasons why developers choose VS Code:
- Versatility: VS Code supports a wide range of programming languages and frameworks, making it suitable for diverse development projects.
- Extensibility: With a vast library of extensions available through the Visual Studio Code Marketplace, developers can customize and extend the functionality of VS Code to suit their specific needs.
- Performance: Despite its feature-rich environment, VS Code remains lightweight and responsive, ensuring a smooth development experience even on low-end hardware.
- Community Support: The VS Code community is vibrant and active, providing resources, tutorials, and support to help developers maximize their productivity.
Download VS Code
To download VS Code, follow these simple steps:
- Go to the link https://code.visualstudio.com/Download
- Choose your required system and version.
- Install the application
- Install extension of compiling the program
- Method I - You can download from that VS-Code application. or,
- Method II - You can go through this link click (Download and Install)
- Install debugging
Install Extension For C/C++
C/C++ of IntelliSense
Code Runner of Jun Han
Setup MingW for C/C++
- Install MingW Server I Server II
- Continue
- Choose 'Mark for installation' from package list
- Then choose 'Apply for changes'
- Then 'Apply'
- After complete the apply changes
- Close the dilog box
- Check 'MingW' folder in 'C Drive'
- Enter in 'bin' folder what exist in 'C Drive> MingW'
- Copy the path of 'bin'
- Open 'Environment Variables' Steps are below-
- System>Advance System Settings>Advanced>Environment Variables>
- Select 'path' from system variables
- Chose New and paste the copied path 'C:\MinGW\bin'
- Then Ok>Ok