VSCode C trouble: Debug and Build C on Windows - c

Question

I'm trying to setup VSCode to build and debug C on Windows.
I have installed MinGW.
I'm trying to generate an .exe file for the following code:
#define USE_PTS true
#include "Cartography.h"
static Cartography cartography ;
static int nCartography = 0;
int main(void)
{
nCartography = loadCartography("map (1).txt", &cartography);
showCartography(cartography, nCartography);
interpreter(cartography, nCartography);
return 0;
}
I have two other files Cartography.hand Cartography.c.
If I run the following command using the powershell terminal, it generates an .exe file perfectly:
gcc -std=c11 -o Main Cartography.c Main.c -lm
But if I try to build it using VSCode (using Ctrl + Shift + B) it doesn't recognize the other files:
> Executing task in folder Projeto2LAP: gcc -std=c11 -o Main Cartography.c Main.c -lm <
gcc.exe: error: Cartography.c: No such file or directory
gcc.exe: error: Main.c: No such file or directory
The terminal process terminated with exit code: 1
Terminal will be reused by tasks, press any key to close it.
Here is my tasks.json file:
{
"version": "2.0.0",
"tasks": [
{
"type": "shell",
"label": "C/C++: gcc.exe build active file",
"command": "gcc -std=c11 -o Main Cartography.c Main.c -lm",
"options": {
"cwd": "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\mingw-w64\\i686-8.1.0-posix-dwarf-rt_v6-rev0\\mingw32\\bin"
},
"problemMatcher": [
"$gcc"
],
"group": {
"kind": "build",
"isDefault": true
}
}
]
}
The other issue I have is when I'm trying to use the built in VSCode debugger.
I generate the .exe file using the command I mentioned, so an .exe file is present in the current folder.
(I should also mention that the folder I'm working on only contains the files and the .vscode folder, there are no subfolders or anything that could cause an error).
When I click on debug it gives me the following error message:
Error message prompt
Here is my launch.json file:
{
// Use IntelliSense to learn about possible attributes.
// Hover to view descriptions of existing attributes.
// For more information, visit: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=830387
"version": "0.2.0",
"configurations": [
{
"name": "(gdb) Launch",
"type": "cppdbg",
"request": "launch",
"program": "${workspaceFolder}/Main.exe",
"args": [],
"stopAtEntry": false,
"cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
"environment": [],
"externalConsole": false,
"MIMode": "gdb",
"miDebuggerPath": "C:/Program Files (x86)/mingw-w64/i686-8.1.0-posix-dwarf-rt_v6-rev0/mingw32/bin/gdb.exe",
"setupCommands": [
{
"description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb",
"text": "-enable-pretty-printing",
"ignoreFailures": true
}
]
}
]
}
What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Your first question:
When you use the powershell command, it gets your *.c files from your current wording directory via relative paths. This is what you attempt to do in the task command, but your CWD is set to the wrong place. In tasks.json, you need to either specify the absolute paths of your files in the gcc command or change your CWD to the directory of the *.c files. Or better, VSC lets you set "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}". This means if you change the name or do any other edits, your task will still work. (For bonus points, you could set the CWD to the enclosing folder of the currently selected file.) First question part 2: The task error probably isn't you. It appears to be a known bug. Instructions here to mitigate it.
Sorry for the late response
I don't see any reason why you would get the debugging error, so my only guess is a permissions problem. Your debugger may not be able to "see" that that directory exists. Make sure neither it nor any of its parent folders have unduly tights restrictions.

Answer 2

Rather than pass one long string to launch GCC in tasks.json, consider using the "args" list variable, placing each arg in a separate element of the list.
Assuming your source files are located within the same directory that was opened in VSCode, the previously-mentioned "${workspaceFolder}" macro will construct the correct paths.
Otherwise, provide absolute paths to your source files as earlier suggested.
Example:
{
"label": "GCC Build Debug (64-bit)",
"type": "shell",
"command": "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\mingw-w64\\i686-8.1.0-posix-dwarf-rt_v6-rev0\\mingw32\\bin\\gcc",
"args": [
"--std=c11",
"-g",
"-lm",
"-o",
"${workspaceFolder}/Main"
"${workspaceFolder}/Main.c",
"${workspaceFolder}/Cartography.c"
],
"problemMatcher": [
"$msCompile"
]
},