get-started.txt

.. _cpp-get-started:

===============================
Get Started with the C++ Driver
===============================

.. contents:: On this page
   :local:
   :backlinks: none
   :depth: 2
   :class: singlecol

.. facet::
   :name: genre
   :values: tutorial
 
.. meta::
   :description: Learn how to create an app to connect to MongoDB deployment by using the C++ driver.
   :keywords: quick start, tutorial, basics

Overview
--------

The {+driver-long+} is a C++ package that you can use to connect to MongoDB and
interact with data stored in your deployment. This guide shows you how to create an
application that uses the {+driver-short+} to connect to a MongoDB cluster hosted on
MongoDB Atlas and query data in your cluster.

.. tip:: 

   MongoDB Atlas is a fully managed cloud database service that hosts your MongoDB
   deployments. You can create your own free (no credit card required) MongoDB Atlas 
   deployment by following the steps in this guide.

Follow this guide to connect a sample C++ application to a MongoDB Atlas
deployment. If you prefer to connect to MongoDB using a different driver or
programming language, see our :driver:`list of official drivers <>`.

.. _cpp-quick-start-download-and-install:

Download and Install
--------------------

.. procedure::
   :style: connected

   .. step:: Install dependencies

      Before you begin this tutorial, ensure you have the following dependencies
      installed in your development environment:
      
      - Compiler that supports C++17, such as `GCC <https://gcc.gnu.org/install/>`__, `Clang <https://clang.llvm.org/>`__,
        or `Visual Studio <https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/>`__
      - `CMake <https://cmake.org/>`__ v3.15 or later
      - `pkg-config <https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/pkg-config/>`__

      .. note:: Pre-C++17 Configurations

         Although C++11 is the minimum supported language version, this tutorial
         configures the {+driver-short+} to use the C++17 standard library
         as recommended by the :ref:`cpp-polyfill-config` section. If you want to install
         the driver for pre-C++17 configurations, set the ``CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD``
         configuration option to your C++ version. Then, the driver will automatically use
         bsoncxx library polyfill implementations for required C++17 features.

   .. step:: Download the {+driver-short+}

      To download the latest version of the {+driver-short+} from the ``mongo-cxx-driver`` Github
      repository, run the following commands in your shell from your root directory:
      
      .. code-block:: bash

         curl -OL https://github.com/mongodb/mongo-cxx-driver/releases/download/r{+full-version+}/mongo-cxx-driver-r{+full-version+}.tar.gz
         tar -xzf mongo-cxx-driver-r{+full-version+}.tar.gz
         cd mongo-cxx-driver-r{+full-version+}/build

   .. step:: Configure the driver for installation

      Select the tab corresponding to your operating system and run following command from your
      ``mongo-cxx-driver-r{+full-version+}/build`` directory:

      .. tabs::

          .. tab:: macOS / Linux
             :tabid: configure-mac-linux

             .. code-block:: bash

                cmake ..                                \
                    -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release          \
                    -DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=17              
            
             This command instructs CMake to install ``mongocxx`` into the ``/usr/local`` directory.

          .. tab:: Windows
             :tabid: configure-windows

             .. code-block:: bash

                'C:\<path>\cmake.exe' .. \
                    -G "Visual Studio <version> <year>" -A "x64"         \
                    -DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=17                     \
                    -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=C:\mongo-cxx-driver  \
             
             This command instructs CMake to install ``mongocxx`` into the ``C:\mongo-cxx-driver``
             directory. Replace the following placeholder values:
             
             - ``<path>``: The path to your CMake executable
             - ``<version>``: Your Visual Studio version number
             - ``<year>``: The year corresponding to your Visual Studio version

   .. step:: Build and install the driver

      Select the tab corresponding to your operating system and run following commands to install
      the driver:

      .. tabs::

          .. tab:: macOS / Linux
             :tabid: configure-mac-linux

             .. code-block:: bash

                cmake --build .
                sudo cmake --build . --target install

          .. tab:: Windows
             :tabid: configure-windows

             .. code-block:: bash

                cmake --build . --config RelWithDebInfo
                cmake --build . --target install --config RelWithDebInfo

After you complete these steps, you have the {+driver-short+} installed 
on your machine.

.. _cpp-quick-start-create-deployment:

Create a MongoDB Deployment
---------------------------

You can create a free tier MongoDB deployment on MongoDB Atlas
to store and manage your data. MongoDB Atlas hosts and manages
your MongoDB database in the cloud.

.. procedure::
   :style: connected

   .. step:: Create a Free MongoDB deployment on Atlas

      Complete the :atlas:`Get Started with Atlas </getting-started>`
      guide to set up a new Atlas account and load sample data into a new free
      tier MongoDB deployment.
      
   .. step:: Save your Credentials

      After you create your database user, save that user's 
      username and password to a safe location for use in an upcoming step.
  
After you complete these steps, you have a new free tier MongoDB
deployment on Atlas, database user credentials, and sample data loaded
into your database.

.. _cpp-quick-start-connection-string:

Create a Connection String
--------------------------

You can connect to your MongoDB deployment by providing a
**connection URI**, also called a *connection string*, which
instructs the driver on how to connect to a MongoDB deployment
and how to behave while connected.

The connection string includes the hostname or IP address and 
port of your deployment, the authentication mechanism, user credentials 
when applicable, and connection options.

To connect to an instance or deployment not hosted on Atlas, see the
:ref:`cpp-connection-targets` guide.

.. procedure::
   :style: connected

   .. step:: Find your MongoDB Atlas Connection String

      To retrieve your connection string for the deployment that
      you created in the :ref:`previous step <cpp-quick-start-create-deployment>`,
      log in to your Atlas account and navigate to the
      :guilabel:`Database` section and click the :guilabel:`Connect` button
      for your new deployment.

      .. figure:: /includes/figures/atlas_connection_select_cluster.png
         :alt: The connect button in the clusters section of the Atlas UI

      Proceed to the :guilabel:`Connect your application` section and select
      "C++" from the :guilabel:`Driver` selection menu and the version
      that best matches the version you installed from the :guilabel:`Version`
      selection menu.

      Select the :guilabel:`Password (SCRAM)` authentication mechanism.
      
      Deselect the :guilabel:`Include full driver code example` option to view
      only the connection string.

   .. step:: Copy your Connection String

      Click the button on the right of the connection string to copy it
      to your clipboard, as shown in the following screenshot:

      .. figure:: /includes/figures/atlas_connection_copy_string_cpp.png
         :alt: The copy button next to the connection string in the Atlas UI

   .. step:: Update the Placeholders

      Paste this connection string into a file in your preferred text editor and replace
      the ``<username>`` and ``<password>`` placeholders with your database user's
      username and password.

      Save this file to a safe location for use in the next step.

After completing these steps, you have a connection string that
corresponds to your Atlas cluster.

.. _cpp-quick-start-connect-to-mongodb:

Run a Sample Query
------------------

.. facet::
   :name: genre
   :values: tutorial

.. meta::
   :keywords: test connection, runnable, code example

.. procedure::
   :style: connected

   .. step:: Create a project directory

      From your root directory, run the following command in your shell to create a directory called
      ``cpp-quickstart`` for this project:

      .. code-block:: bash

         mkdir cpp-quickstart

      Run the following commands to create a ``quickstart.cpp`` application file in the ``cpp-quickstart``
      directory:

      .. code-block:: bash

         cd cpp-quickstart
         touch quickstart.cpp

   .. step:: Create your {+driver-short+} application

      Copy and paste the following code into the ``quickstart.cpp`` file, which queries
      the ``movies`` collection in the ``sample_mflix`` database:

      .. literalinclude:: /includes/get-started/quickstart.cpp

   .. step:: Assign the connection string

      Replace the ``<connection string>`` placeholder with the 
      connection string that you copied from the :ref:`cpp-quick-start-connection-string`
      step of this guide.

   .. step:: Run your C++ application

      In your shell, run the following commands to compile and run this application:
      
      .. code-block:: none

         c++ --std=c++17 quickstart.cpp $(pkg-config --cflags --libs libmongocxx) -o ./app.out
         ./app.out
      
      .. tip::

         MacOS users might see the following error after running the preceding commands:

         .. code-block:: bash
            :copyable: false

            dyld[54430]: Library not loaded: @rpath/libmongocxx._noabi.dylib
 
         To resolve this error, use the ``-Wl,-rpath`` linker option to set the ``@rpath``, as shown
         in the following code: 

         .. code-block:: none

            c++ --std=c++17 quickstart.cpp -Wl,-rpath,/usr/local/lib/ $(pkg-config --cflags --libs libmongocxx) -o ./app.out
            ./app.out

      The command line output contains details about the retrieved movie
      document:

      .. code-block:: none
         :copyable: false

         { "_id" : { "$oid" : "573a1399f29313caabceeb20" },
         "plot" : "Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace
         and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.",
         ...
         "title" : "The Shawshank Redemption", 
         ...

      If you encounter an error or see no output, ensure that you specified the
      proper connection string in the ``quickstart.cpp`` file and that you loaded the
      sample data.

After you complete these steps, you have a working application that
uses the driver to connect to your MongoDB deployment, runs a query on
the sample data, and prints out the result.

.. _cpp-quick-start-next-steps:

Next Steps
----------

.. facet::
   :name: genre
   :values: reference

.. meta::
   :keywords: learn more

Congratulations on completing the quick start tutorial!

.. include:: /includes/get-started/troubleshoot.rst

In this tutorial, you created a C++ application that
connects to a MongoDB deployment hosted on MongoDB Atlas
and retrieves a document that matches a query.

Learn more about {+driver-short+} from the following resources:

- Learn how to perform read operations in the :ref:`<cpp-read>` section.

- Learn how to perform write operations in the :ref:`<cpp-write>` section.