How to Create, Compile, And Run a single file in C

Question

I am working on some c++ stuff and I hate having to create a whole new project just to run a few things on a file.

I also don't like how when you create a project a file is already called main.cpp.

I just want to make a single file with a few functions or classes. It's not important enough to create a whole project.

I want to create a file and call it what i want. Just create a file what I call, then compile and run.

I don't want to deal with the whole CMake thing, just compile ONE file.

No project related. Thank you.

I know you can do this on visual studio, but i am working on a mac OS X using Clion.

Answer 1

I just had the same question and stumbled upon this thread and then found my solution in this plugin. What this plugin does is basically what user Waxo suggested automatically: adds a single line in CMakeLists.txt for each executable file for you. You just have to right click in editor and select it. I found it pretty useful and use it mostly for algorithms competitions. Hope this helps: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/8352-c-c--single-file-execution

Cheers!

Answer 2

You may modify the CMakeLists.txt

Here an example :

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.3)
project(test_build)

set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -std=c++11")

set(BUILD_1 main)
set(SOURCE_FILES_1 main.cc) //where main.cc is your first main/program
add_executable(${BUILD_1} ${SOURCE_FILES_1})

set(BUILD_2 main_2)
set(SOURCE_FILES_2 main_2.cc) //where main_2.cc is your second main/program
add_executable(${BUILD_2} ${SOURCE_FILES_2})

Or use a test (garbage version) :
add_executable(foo bar.cc)

After that you can choose the build you want in CLion