What’s the Best Text Editor or Compiler for Learning C++?

If you’re on Windows, Visual Studio is really user-friendly and includes everything you need in one package—like the IDE, compiler, linker, and debugger. You can create a Win32 Console Application with the project wizard and easily add a source file through the Solution Explorer. Just remember, VS Code is entirely different and focuses more on being a lightweight editor with plugins.

If you're starting out, your professor might suggest a specific environment to keep everyone on the same page. Usually, it means using something like Notepad for editing and then using gcc in the command line to compile your code. Later, you might transition to a full IDE like Visual Studio or VSCode. Just don’t mix them up; they’re not the same!

For a basic text editor, VSCode is a great starting point. If you need a full-fledged IDE, Visual Studio is free to download and worth it for beginners. It's very comprehensive!

I mainly use Neovim but I'd recommend checking out VSCode or Zed as well. Keep in mind that Zed can be a bit unstable right now, but if you’re not into the AI features it comes with, you can easily turn those off. For Neovim, I use clangd for my language server, but ctags is also a solid option. Best of luck with your learning!

I like using gcc/g++ with VSCode because it’s straightforward. I tried Neovim, but it didn't click for me. These two together with the C/C++ extension pack should get you started well, especially if you plan on working on larger projects. Oh, and yeah—these tools are free!