   C Compiler
  Does anyone know where to download a free C compiler? 
  Google "GCC" ("MinGW" if you want it for Windows; "Dev-C++" or "MinGW Developer Studio" if you want an IDE to go with it). ;Google. For Beginners. GDNet Forum Search. ;  Okay, I downloaded gcc and unzipped it, and I think it automatically setup the whole directory tree.  But I''m wondering how to use it to compile my code, and I can''t find that info in the help files.  Also, what file extension should I use on my code? ;  It is important to use the proper extensions, since gcc performs different compilation depending on the source extension. From the gcc man page (edited for content):.c : C source files.cc, .cp, .cxx, .cpp, .c++, .C : C++ source files.h : C header fileNote that you can use .h header files in C++ projects, and that some people optionally use .hpp for C++ header files.Simple command line options include -c (compile and assemble only, no link), -S (compile only, no assemble; results in assembly-language output), -o (give name to the resultant output file, be it compiled source or linked executable). There are many others-- check the source.Now, it is extremely cumbersome to build any project of significant size using only command-line gcc, which is where make comes in. Make uses Makefiles to automate the build-process. You specify targets in the makefile, and rules by which those targets are to be built, and you can build your project with a simple make all command. Make takes care of passing the correct options and source files to gcc, and to the linker. Most IDEs such as Bloodshed''s Dev-Cpp handle project options and manipulate the Makefile behind the scenes, facilitating point-and-click type of compilation so that you don''t have to fiddle with it. If you are afraid of Makefiles, shell-scripting or command-line syntax, or you just want to do projects of more than a handful of files, I''d suggest using one of those IDEs. Try Dev-Cpp. Pretty nifty if you are a Windows user, and they put a lot of work into updating packages for use such as SDL. If you are a Linux user, you could try KDevelop, Anjuta, etc...    GolemBlender--The Gimp--Python--Lua--SDLNethack--Crawl--ADOM--Angband--Dungeondweller