Cannot run C++ executable file from Ubuntu GUI

[LaserGuided]

I am new to Linux. I am running Ubuntu 10.10.

I have written C++ programs on Windows. I am now learning Linux to ensure my software is portable. I can compile and run C++ programs from the bash shell, but I cannot run my executable programs from the GUI.

Here is my sample program:

#include <iostream>

int main()
{
    std::cout << "\n Enter number: ";
    int number = 0;
    std::cin >> number;
    std::cout << "\n Your number: " << number << "\n";
    return 0;
}

I compile with GCC:

g++ sample.cpp -o sample

The file permissions are:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 jimmy jimmy 7719 2011-04-17 10:40 sample

The file property "Allow executing file as program" is checked.

Why does this file not run when I double click it from the GUI?

[Rubberman]

This is not a GUI program. It has to run inside a text shell such as bash. Open a console/terminal window on the GUI, and then run the program. If you want it to output a GUI window to display the output, then you need to use the appropriate API's to do so. For cross-platform compatibility, try Qt.

[Djhg2000]

Why does this file not run when I double click it from the GUI?

Welcome to linuxforums.org , LaserGuided!


The program does run, but unlike in windows it doesn't spawn a command prompt to display the output.

Most of the time when you run an executable from the GUI you only want the GUI portion to be displayed while the status messages printed to stdout remains hidden.

You can explicitly run your program in a command prompt by either:
1. choosing "Run in Terminal" from the file explorer if you use the default Gnome desktop
2. create a launcher to your executable from the desktop right-click menu and change the command from "/home/jimmy/sample" to "xterm -hold -e /home/jimmy/sample" which will spawn a command prompt using xterm to display the output of your command.


Hope this helps and good luck with your programs!
/ Djhg2000

[LaserGuided]

Thanks for your replies. This forum really helps the learning curve.
My linux and windows machines are identical, but I'm doing most of my programming on the linux box now because g++ compiles significantly faster on linux.

btw - I do use Qt (love it).