Why is VS Code unable to run the code?

Question

I've been trying to learn C as a beginner from online tutorials. However when I tried to run a simple code "Hello World!" the compiler seems unable to process it. It keeps sending back an error like this : PS C:\Users\puran\OneDrive\Desktop\C Tutorials> ./a.out

./a.out : The term './a.out' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the

name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

At line:1 char:1

+ ./a.out

+ ~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (./a.out:String) [], CommandNotFoundException

+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

I've set my environment variables correctly i believe.

Answer 1

It looks like you aren't compiling your source code as an executable and/or you are naming the output a.out which is not a valid executable. Hence it cannot be run. Please provide us with the command line you're running when you build your code. Also please provide a link to the tutorial you're using and confirm what tools you've installed in VS Code to compile for C. Are you actually trying to compile C or C++ code. Either one requires additional tools.

Answer 2

Hi Vaishak Upadhyaya,

Thank you for posting in the Q&A Forums.

Make sure your C program is compiled:

Using the GCC compiler (or any other compiler of your choice), you should be able to compile your hello.c file. For example, run it from the command line:

bash

gcc hello.c -o hello.exe

This will compile hello.c and produce an executable file called hello.exe.

Run your program from the command line:

If you are using the Windows command prompt (cmd) or PowerShell, you should run the name of the executable file directly, rather than using the . / prefix. In your example, you should run:

bash

hello.exe

instead of . /a.out.

Best regards

NeuviJ

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