The very first thing you need to do, before starting out in C++, is to make sure that you have a compiler. What is a compiler, you ask? A compiler turns the program that you write into an executable that your computer can actually understand and run. If you're taking a course, you probably have one provided through your school. If you're starting out on your own, your best bet is to use Code::Blocks with MinGW. If you're on Linux, you can use g++, and if you're on Mac OS X, you can use XCode. (If you are stuck using an older compiler, such as Turbo C++, you'll need to read this page on compatibility issues.) If you haven't yet done so, go ahead and get a compiler set up--you'll need it for the rest of the tutorial.