Build your first app with native GCC on RHEL 6 or 7

Create your first Hello World with the native GCC C++ on Red Hat Enterprise Linux in under 10 minutes.  

Introduction and Prerequisites

In this tutorial, you will install the RHEL native GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and build a simple C++ Hello World application. This tutorial should take less than 10 minutes to complete. The native GCC versions are 4.4 on RHEL 6 and 4.8 on RHEL 7.  If you require a newer GCC version, install a newer version with the Red Hat Developer Toolset.

Before you begin, you will need a current Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or 7 workstation or server subscription that allows you to download software and get updates from Red Hat. If you don’t have an active subscription, register and obtain the RHEL Developer Suite (includes RHEL server) from here.

If you encounter difficulties at any point, see Troubleshooting and FAQ.

1. Prepare your system

2 minutes

In this step, you will download and install the latest updates from Red Hat for your system. In the process, you will verify that your system has a current Red Hat subscription and is able to receive updates.

First, start a Terminal window from the Application menu. Then after using su to change to the root user ID, use subscription-managerto verify that you have access to Red Hat Software Repositories.

$ su -
# subscription-manager repos --list-enabled

If you don’t see any enabled repositories, your system might not be registered with Red Hat or might not have a valid subscription. See Troubleshooting and FAQ for more information.

Now download and install any available updates by running yum update. If updates are available, yum will list them and ask if it is OK to proceed.

# yum update

2. Setup your development environment

5 minutes

In this next step you will use a single command to download and install the GCC C and C++ compilers as well as other development tools. You should still have the previous Terminal window open, and still be running under su.

# yum install @development

Your system might already have these tools installed if you selected the Development Tools package collection during installation. In this case, yum will return Nothing to do.

The steps that need to be run as root have been completed, so type exit to return to your normal user ID.

# exit
$

 

3. Hello World and your first application

5 minutes

In this step you will create and run the C++ Hello World application. You should still have a Terminal window open running under your regular user ID.

Now create hello.cpp using your preferred text editor or simply use cat:

$ cat > hello.cpp
#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
  cout << "Hello, Red Hat Developers World!" << endl;
  return 0;
}

Type control-d to exit cat, or if you used an editor save the file and exit.

Now compile and run the program:

$ pass:[g++] -o hello hello.cpp
$ ./hello
Hello, Red Hat Developers World!

Where to go next?

Developing with Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Developer Guide — The developer guide for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 provides an introduction to application development tools and using source code management tools such as Git in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Developer Guide — The developer guide for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 provides an introduction to application development tools and using source code management tools such as Git in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.
 

Troubleshooting and FAQ

1. My system is unable to download updates from Red Hat.

   I don’t have a current Red Hat subscription, can I get an evaluation?

   Download the no-cost Red Hat Enterprise Linux developer subscription from here.  This is more than evaluation subscription, but a 12 month subscription for development.

2. Which version of GCC am I using?

   Red Hat Enterprise Linux includes a version of the GNU compiler collection that is supported for the same lifecycle as the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Major releases of Red Hat Enterprise Linux are supported for up to 10 years.

   For RHEL 7 use g++ -v to see what version you have installed.

   $ pass:[g++] -v
   gcc version 4.8.3 20140911 (Red Hat 4.8.3-9) (GCC)

   For RHEL 6 use g++ -v to see what version you have installed.

   $ pass:[g++] -v
   gcc version 4.4.7 20120313 (Red Hat 4.4.7-16) (GCC)
   

3. How can I obtain a newer version of GCC/G++?

   Red Hat Developer Toolset provides the latest, stable, open source C and C++ compilers and complementary development tools including Eclipse. DTS enables developers to compile applications once and deploy across multiple versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The Red Hat Developer Toolset uses Red Hat Software Collections to install a parallel set of packages in /opt/rh where they will not override the system packages that come with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Red Hat Software Collections is available with select Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscriptions and has a three-year life cycle to allow rapid innovation without sacrificing stability.

Last updated: January 6, 2023