Standard C compiler
Whenever you are running a CUDA application, it will need two compilers: one for GPU code and one for CPU code. The compiler for the GPU code will come with an installation of CUDA toolkit, which will be discussed in the next section. You also need to install a standard C compiler for executing CPU code. There are different C compilers based on the operating systems:
- On Windows: For all Microsoft Windows editions, it is recommended to use Microsoft Visual Studio C compiler. It comes with Microsoft Visual Studio and can be downloaded from its official website: https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/.
The express edition for commercial applications needs to be purchased, but you can use community editions for free in non-commercial applications. For running the CUDA application, install Microsoft Visual Studio with a Microsoft Visual Studio C compiler selected. Different CUDA versions support different Visual Studio editions, so you can refer to the NVIDIA CUDA website for Visual Studio version support.
- On Linux: Mostly, all Linux distributions come with a standard GNU C Complier (GCC), and hence it can be used to compile CPU code for CUDA applications.
- On Mac: On the Mac operating system, you can install a GCC compiler by downloading and installing Xcode for macOS. It is freely available and can be downloaded from Apple's website: