Lab 1 - Development Environment & First C++ Program

Responsible: Ing. Petr Šopák

This laboratory introduces the basic development environment used throughout the BPC-PRP course.

The goal is to get familiar with Linux, command-line tools, and to compile and run a simple C++ program.

By the end of this lab, you should be able to:

• navigate the Linux file system using the CLI,
• create and edit source files,
• compile and run a basic C++ program,
• understand the role of an IDE and ROS 2 in this course.

Linux & Command Line Basics (≈ 60 min)

Installation (optional)

To install Linux, please follow the Linux chapter.

Exercise

• Explore the system GUI.
• Open a terminal and navigate the file system.
• Practice basic CLI commands (see the Linux chapter):
  • Check the current directory: pwd
  • Create a directory: mkdir <dir>
  • Enter a directory: cd <dir>
  • Create a file: touch <file>
  • List directory contents: ls -la
  • Rename or move a file: mv <old> <new>
  • Copy a file: cp <src> <dst>
  • Remove a file: rm <file>
  • Create/remove a directory: mkdir <dir>, rm -r <dir>
• Try a text editor: nano or vim

More details about Linux will be introduced during the course.

First C++ Program – CLI Compilation (≈ 60 min)

Create a new project folder in your home directory and enter it.

Create a file main.cpp with the following content:

#include <iostream>

#define A 5

int sum(int a, int b) {
    return a + b;
}

int main() {
    std::cout << "My first C++ program" << std::endl;
    int b = 10;
    std::cout << "Sum result: " << sum(A, b) << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

Compile the program using g++ (GCC C++ compiler):

g++ -o my_program main.cpp

Run the compiled binary:

./my_program

There are other alternatives, like Clang, LLVM, and many others.

TASK 1

1. In your project folder, create an include folder.
2. In the include folder, create a lib.hpp file and write a simple function in it.
3. Use the function from lib.hpp in main.cpp.
4. Compile and run the program (tip: use -I <folder> with g++ to specify the header search path).

TASK 2

1. In the project folder, create lib.cpp.
2. Move the function implementation from lib.hpp to lib.cpp; keep the function declaration in lib.hpp.
3. Compile and run the program (tip: you have to compile both main.cpp and lib.cpp).
4. Helper: g++ -o <output_binary> <source_1.cpp source_2.cpp ...> -I <folder_with_headers>
5. Discuss the difference between preprocessing, compiling, and linking.

IDE Overview – CLion (≈ 15 min)

Installation

Install CLion using the Snap package manager:

sudo snap install --classic clion

Alternatively, download CLion from the official website and get familiar with it (see CLion IDE). By registering with your school email, you can obtain a free student license.

To learn how to control CLion, please take a look at the tutorial or the official docs.

TASK 3

1. Learn how to control CLion
2. Open the previously created C++ program (main.cpp) in CLion.
3. Build and run the program using the IDE controls.

ROS 2 – Course Context (≈ 15 min)

ROS 2 (Robot Operating System 2) is a framework for building robotic systems. In this course, ROS 2 will be used later for:

• communication between software components,
• visualization (RViz, rqt),
• simulation (Gazebo).

For installation and basic commands, see the ROS 2 chapter: ROS 2.