Systems Programming

Laboratory 1 – Programming environment

During the semester the compiler that is going to be used is gcc. It compiles C/C++ source code
into executables.
Although it can be executed from the command line it is advantageous to use an IDE
(Integrated Development Environment).
The IDE seamless integrates the writing of the code the compilation, error finding, debugging
and execution all inside a single environment.

The IDE that is suggested is the Microsoft Visual Code (VSCode).

VSCode has versions to Linux, MAC OS X and Windows.

In the case of Linux and Mac OS X, VSCode uses the installed compilers.
In Windows it can use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (that replicates a Linux OS inside
Windows).

The installation of VSCode is straightforward and its configuration to compile C/C++ code is also
simple.
It is only necessary to follow the documentations provided by Microsoft.

In the middle of this document there is two small exercises for you to solve.
Table of Contents
1 Install Visual Studio Code..............................................................................................................3

2 Install C++ Extensions...................................................................................................................4

2.1 Linux......................................................................................................................................4

2.2 Windows................................................................................................................................4

2.3 MAC OS X...............................................................................................................................5

3 Debug C programs........................................................................................................................6

4 Exercise 1......................................................................................................................................7

5 Use of makefiles............................................................................................................................8

5.1 Installation of Makefile extension.........................................................................................8

5.2 Makefile.................................................................................................................................9

5.3 Configuration of extension....................................................................................................9

6 Exercise 2....................................................................................................................................12

7 Collaborate while programming.................................................................................................13

1 Install Visual Studio Code
The way to install Visual Studio Code is described in

• https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/setup/setup-overview

This simple tutorial guides the installation on the three different operating systems: Linux, MAC
OS X and Windows

After installation, students should follow the GET STARTED guided tour to get acquainted with
VSCode:

• https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/introvideos
2 Install C++ Extensions
In order to compile C programs it is necessary to install the C++ extension.

2.1 Linux
If the student is using Linux, it is necessary to install the gcc compiler and the necessary
libraries. In Ubuntu this is done with the command:

sudo apt-get install build-essential gdb

in other Linux distributions the command can be different :/

All the necessary installation steps are presented in this guide:

• https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/config-linux

After installing all the dependencies guarantee that everything is running smoothly by executing
the example presented in the previous guides.

This example is in C++, but if you can run it, you can run C programs also.

2.2 Windows

https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-pt/windows/wsl/install
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/config-wsl

In Windows it is necessary to install:

• Windows Subsystem for Linux

◦ https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-pt/windows/wsl/install

◦ install and configure one Linux distribution inside the WSL (for instance Ubuntu)

• Install vscode in windows

◦ https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/config-wsl

◦ install the Remote-WSL extension inside VSCode

All the necessary installation steps are presented in this guide:

• https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/config-wsl

After installing all the dependencies guarantee that everything is running smoothly by executing
the example presented in the previous guides.

This example is in C++, but if you can run it, you can run C programs also.

2.3 MAC OS X

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/config-clang-mac

In MAC OS X it is necessary to guarantee that you have the Xcode installed

All the necessary installation steps are presented in this guide:

• https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/config-clang-mac

After installing all the dependencies guarantee that everything is running smoothly by executing
the example presented in the previous guides.

This example is in C++, but if you can run it, you can run C programs also.

It is fundamental that, independently on the Operating System used

(LINUX, WINDOWS+WSL or MAC OS X), students complete one of the

following tutorials:

https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-pt/windows/wsl/install

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/config-wsl

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/config-clang-mac
3 Debug C programs
https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/cpp-debug

The VS Code allows debugging of C program. It allows the regular execution of applications
with the added functionalities:

• If the application crashes it is possible to evaluate the state of the application

• it is possible to insert breakpoints

• it is possible to execute the application step by step

• it is possible to verify and change the values of variables

• it is possible to execute python expressions that will change the state of the
applications

Don’t forget to follow the debugging guide:

• https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/cpp-debug
4 Exercise 1
In this exercise students will use VS Code to edit, compile and run a program.

Follow the next steps:

• Create a folder and inside it edit the lab1.c file

◦ you can create a file called lab1.c and copy to it the C code

◦ copy the lab1.c code into the suitable directory

• open the VSCode in such directory

• Compile the program

• Run the program

◦ Type your student number

◦ Take note of the printed value

Why does the random function always return the same number?
Is random() really random?

Debug the program line by line to understand if everything is ok!

5 Use of makefiles
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode.makefile-tools

The Visual Studio Code can use a standard makefiles to help compile a project and run
applications in a project. To accomplish this, it is necessary first install an extension, then write
the suitable makefile and finally configure the extension.

5.1 Installation of Makefile extension

In order to activate the make and correct debug buttons on VSCode, it is necessary to install
the Makefile Tools extension from Microsoft.

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode.makefile-
tools

Select the Extensions tab and search for the Makefile Tools from Microsoft

Extensions tab

After selecting the correct extension, install it

5.2 Makefile
After this extension is installed, students should create a Makefile file with rules to compile the
various components and applications.

To ease the development the following required rules should also be defined:

• all

• clean

In order to allow the debug of the applications, it is necessary to use the -g compilation flag.

5.3 Configuration of extension

To configure the Makefile extension and
compile/debug the applications it is necessary to
access the Makefile tab.
This tab show the configuration and a set of buttons
to compile and run the applications.

In order to define what what application will be

compiled, the student should define the Build
Target configuration:
file Tab
Make
Configure Build target:

Later, when the user clicks on the compile button, the Make command will try to execute the
selected rule (in this case compile the main application.

To run the application inside VSCode or debug it it is also necessary to configure the Launch
target.

Configure the Launch target:

After the configuration it is now possible to

• compile the target application

 • run (launch) the target application

• debug the target application

using the provided buttons.

Whe compiling it is possible to see the compilation/linking errors and correct them.

Build the current target:

To debug the target program, students should define the suitable breakpoints and run the
program in the debugger.

Debug the current target:

To debug programms that require command line arguments it is necessary to define them in
the settings.json file:

The arguments for the debugged applications should be writte in the binaryArgs array:
6 Exercise 2
Create a Makefile for the program of Exercise 1 and verify the various commands to compile,
execute and debug inside VSCode.
7 Collaborate while programming
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/liveshare/use/vscode
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/liveshare/quickstart/share
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/liveshare/quickstart/join
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/liveshare/quickstart/browser-join

The Visual Studio Code offers a set of tools that allow multiple user to interact in the same
workspace and files.

This allows remote users (in different computers) to control the same workspace:

• All users see the same interface

• All users can change in real time the same file.

• All users can execute the applications and interact with them

To activate this functionality it is necessary to install the Visual studio live share.

Follow the instructions in:

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/liveshare/use/vscode

You will be required to sign in. You can use your TEAMS/Técnico account to do so.

After sharing a session, the remote partner can access your work from his installed VSCode or
even from the browser:

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/liveshare/quickstart/join

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/liveshare/quickstart/browser-join

Now all participants can cooperate on the same workspace in real time.

If necessary, an audio connection can be established to help partners to communicate.