Writing & compiling a C program under Windows XP?

Question

This is an absolute beginner's question, but per the latest podcast, I understand that no question is too newbie.

I have 0 programming experience and I want to learn C, so I'm starting the K&R book. I am using a Windows XP laptop, and I am planning on using Notepad++ to write, and Code::Blocks to compile.

Here's my question: once I have written the "hello world" program in Notepad++, how should I save it, compile it, and run it?

Edit & new question: When I build & run from Code::Blocks, I get the prompt window with the "hello world" message. It stays open until I close it manually. However, when I double click the .exe file, the prompt just flashes and disappears, why is that?

Many thanks,

JD

Edit: I'm going to use Code::Blocks as an IDE, per the recommendations here.

Answer 1

Save it as a .c file. And you can use the MinGW compiler to compile the file into an .exe file. But since you have Visual Studio, you should use that compiler.