Text PAD Setup and Compilation on Windows with MinGW

Working Demo Video

text-editor.mp4

Prerequisites

• Windows OS
• MinGW (64-bit recommended)
• Git Bash or MSYS2 (for Unix-like commands)
• CMake (for building FLTK)

Step 1: Download and Install MinGW

1. Download MinGW-w64 from: https://www.mingw-w64.org/downloads/
2. Install MinGW-w64 and add C:\mingw64\bin to your system PATH.
3. Verify installation:

   g++ --version

   If it prints the version, MinGW is installed correctly.

Step 2: Install CMake

1. Download CMake from: https://cmake.org/download/
2. Install and add CMake to the system PATH.
3. Verify installation:

   cmake --version

Step 3: Download and Build FLTK

1. Clone the FLTK repository:

   git clone https://github.com/fltk/fltk.git C:\FLTK

2. Create a build directory:

   mkdir C:\FLTK\build && cd C:\FLTK\build

3. Run CMake to configure the build:

   cmake -G "MinGW Makefiles" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ..

4. Compile FLTK:

   mingw32-make

5. Verify FLTK build:

   ls C:\FLTK\build\lib

   You should see libfltk.a and other library files.

Step 4: Compile and Run an FLTK Program

1. Navigate to your project directory:

   cd /d/Competative-Prog/CPP/text-editor

2. Compile the program using fltk-config:

   /c/FLTK/build/fltk-config --compile editor.cxx

3. Run the compiled program:

   ./editor.exe

   or in PowerShell:

   .\editor.exe

Troubleshooting

• If fltk-config is not found, run it with its full path:

  /c/FLTK/build/fltk-config --version

• If FL/Fl.H is missing, make sure FLTK is built correctly and include paths are set properly.
• If mingw32-make fails, ensure MinGW is installed and in your PATH.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed FLTK and compiled an FLTK program on Windows using MinGW! 🎉