VSCode C++ configuration

To set up Visual Studio Code (VSCode) to use C++17 by default when compiling your C++ programs, you can configure your build tasks and settings. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Install the Necessary Extensions

First, ensure you have the C++ extension for VSCode installed:

1. Open VSCode.

2. Go to the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of the window or pressing Ctrl+Shift+X.

3. Search for "C++" and install the "C/C++" extension provided by Microsoft.

Step 2: Set Up the tasks.json File

Next, you'll set up a task in VSCode to compile your C++ code using C++17.

1. Open your project folder in VSCode.

2. Go to the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and type "Tasks: Configure Default Build Task". Select it.

3. Choose "Create tasks.json file from template" and select "Others".

4. This will create a tasks.json file in a .vscode folder in your project.

5. Modify the tasks.json file to look something like this:

   jsonCopy code{
       "version": "2.0.0",
       "tasks": [
           {
               "label": "build",
               "type": "shell",
               "command": "/usr/bin/g++",
               "args": [
                   "-std=c++17",
                   "-o",
                   "${fileDirname}/${fileBasenameNoExtension}",
                   "${file}"
               ],
               "group": {
                   "kind": "build",
                   "isDefault": true
               },
               "problemMatcher": ["$gcc"],
               "detail": "Generated task by VS Code."
           }
       ]
   }

   • /usr/bin/g++: This is the path to the g++ compiler. If it's installed elsewhere, update this path accordingly.

   • -std=c++17: This flag tells the compiler to use C++17.

   • ${file}: This refers to the currently open file in the editor.

   • ${fileDirname} and ${fileBasenameNoExtension}: These refer to the output file path and name.

Step 3: Configure the c_cpp_properties.json File

To ensure IntelliSense and other VSCode features use the correct C++ standard, you should also configure the c_cpp_properties.json file.

1. Go to the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and type "C/C++: Edit Configurations (UI)".

2. Set the C++ Standard to c++17 in the UI, or directly edit the c_cpp_properties.json file:

   jsonCopy code{
       "configurations": [
           {
               "name": "Linux",
               "includePath": [
                   "${workspaceFolder}/**"
               ],
               "defines": [],
               "compilerPath": "/usr/bin/g++",
               "cStandard": "c11",
               "cppStandard": "c++17",
               "intelliSenseMode": "linux-gcc-x64"
           }
       ],
       "version": 4
   }

Step 4: Build and Run Your Code

Now, whenever you want to build your code:

1. Open the file you want to compile.

2. Press Ctrl+Shift+B to run the build task. This will compile your code using the C++17 standard.

3. If your code compiles successfully, you can run the output binary from the terminal.

By setting up these configurations, VSCode will now use C++17 for compiling and IntelliSense.

To modify your existing tasks.json configuration to use the C++17 standard, you need to add the -std=c++17 flag to the args array. Here's how you can update your tasks.json file:

jsonCopy code{
    "tasks": [
        {
            "type": "cppbuild",
            "label": "C/C++: g++-11 build active file",
            "command": "/usr/bin/g++-11",
            "args": [
                "-fdiagnostics-color=always",
                "-g",
                "-std=c++17",  // Add this line to use C++17
                "${file}",
                "-o",
                "${fileDirname}/${fileBasenameNoExtension}"
            ],
            "options": {
                "cwd": "${fileDirname}"
            },
            "problemMatcher": [
                "$gcc"
            ],
            "group": {
                "kind": "build",
                "isDefault": true
            },
            "detail": "Task generated by Debugger."
        }
    ],
    "version": "2.0.0"
}

Explanation:

• -std=c++17: This flag tells the compiler to use the C++17 standard.

• The rest of your configuration remains the same, ensuring that the active file is compiled with the correct standard.

After making this change, your tasks in VSCode will compile C++ files using the C++17 standard by default when you run the build task (Ctrl+Shift+B).