没有IDE的Microsoft Windows 7上的本机C编程

Question

Is there any way to write, compile and run C programs from the Windows Command Prompt? I mean just like what is possible from the Linux Terminal using the gcc compiler.

Specifically, I want to know how does Microsoft's "cl.exe" C compiler works. How do I install it? Is it possible to simply write a C Program in a text editor like notepad, then compile it using cl.exe from Command Prompt and run it from there?

Note: I do not want any other kind of C programming solutions on Windows, like using 3rd party compilers like Turbo-C, DevC++, etc, or using Unix emulators like MingGW, etc, or even IDE solutions like Visual Studio, Eclipse, etc. I already know about these.

What I want is to use the native Windows platform for console application programming using Microsoft's own cl.exe compiler and standard Windows libraries. Is it possible?

Apologies if I sound too complicated :)

Answer 1

This explains how to use the cl.exe command line options. You may need to set your PATH variable correctly for this to work.

Answer 2

You ask and answer your own question - there is nothing to it more than downloading the SDK, and using the developer command line to compile a file ( cl hello.c ). By using the shortcut to the developer command line, your PATH and other environment variables are correctly set and you're ready to start compiling immediately.

This is the full cl documentation .