How to compile C/C++ programs on Linux using gcc

You can type your C/C++ program using any of the editor that are available under Linux such as vi or emacs.
Once you have written your program and saved it with .c or .cpp extension, return to command prompt.

for eg. you have saved your program named as "myprogram.c".

Compilation
Syntax: -  $ gcc -o program1 myprogram.c
Here,
$ Linux command prompt.
gcc is a compiler which can compile both c or c++ programs (you can either use cc to compile c programs only).
-o is an option to create output file.
program1 is an executable file name (you can give any name as you want).
myprogram.c  is your source file.

Note:- Giving executable file (program1) is not necessary (e.g. :- $ gcc myprogram.c ). By default gcc maintain a common executable file that can be execute by typing $ ./a.out. This is the default name of the executable that gcc creates. This would create problems when you compile many programs in one directory. So you override this with the -o option followed by the name of the executable.

Execution
Type on your Linux command prompt: - 
$ ./program1
or 
$ ./a.out


Note: - Disadvantage of using a.out is that if you are working Linux server there are several machines running c programs simultaneously. There might be chance of getting wrong output because a.out may produce output of another program. So it is better to use executable file while compiling c/c++ programs.