# A Beginner's Guide to Setting Up a Coding Environment on macOS

Are you a new coder using a Mac and wondering how to get started with coding in C? You've come to the right place! In this article, we'll walk you through the process of setting up your coding environment, including installing Homebrew, GCC (GNU Compiler Collection), Visual Studio Code (VSCode), and creating and running C programs.

### Part 1: Setting Up Your Development Environment

#### Step 1: Installing Homebrew

Homebrew is a package manager for macOS that simplifies the installation of various software packages. To install Homebrew, open your Terminal and paste the following command:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Follow the on-screen instructions, and once it's installed, you'll have a powerful tool at your disposal for managing software on your Mac.

#### Step 2: Installing GCC

GCC is a crucial compiler for C and C++ programming. With Homebrew installed, you can easily get GCC by running the following command:

brew install gcc

This will download and install the latest version of GCC, making it available for your development needs.

#### Step 3: Installing Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a popular code editor that supports multiple programming languages, including C. You can download it from the official website (https://code.visualstudio.com/) or use Homebrew to install it. To use Homebrew, run:

brew install --cask visual-studio-code

Now that you have Homebrew, GCC, and VSCode installed, you're ready to start coding in C!

### Part 2: Creating and Running C Programs

#### Step 1: Create a New C File

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Click on "File" > "New File" to create a new file.
3. Save the file with a `.c` extension (e.g., `hello.c`) to indicate that it's a C source file.

#### Step 2: Writing Your C Code

Now, you can write your C code in the newly created file. For a simple "Hello, World!" program, you can use the following code:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    printf("Hello, World!\n");
    return 0;
}

#### Step 3: Compiling Your C Program

1. Save the changes you made to your C file.
2. Open your Terminal.
3. Navigate to the directory where you saved your C file using the `cd` command. For example:

cd ~/Documents/Code

4. Compile your C program using GCC:

gcc -o hello hello.c

This command tells GCC to compile your `hello.c` file into an executable named `hello`.

#### Step 4: Running Your C Program

After successfully compiling your C program, you can run it by entering the following command in your Terminal:

./hello

You should see the output "Hello, World!" displayed in your Terminal.

Congratulations! You've successfully set up your coding environment on macOS, installed Homebrew, GCC, and Visual Studio Code, and created and run your first C program. You're now ready to explore the world of C programming and build amazing software. Happy coding!