Step 1: Installing C++ on your own computer

• OS X: Install the Xcode developer tools. Choose the appropriate version depending on which version of OS X you're running. You'll then be able to access the g++ compiler from a terminal.
• Windows: Install Cygwin, which is an environment that gives you a prompt and software that looks and feels just like UNIX. On the Cygwin page, click "Install Cygwin now" on the top right. This points you towards an installation executable. Run it, and choose all defaults for the first few screens. You'll then need to arbitrarily choose a mirror site from which to download. Finally, on the "select packages" screen, expand the "Devel" category, scroll down, and select the packages "gcc-g++" and "make". Feel free to skim the list of packages to see if you see any other favorite open source tools you'd like to have around. In particular, look at the "Editors" category, as you might find an editor there you wish to use. When done, click the Next button at the bottom. Once installed, you'll get a shortcut on your Start Menu and on your Desktop that will give you a UNIX-like prompt. Note that your home directory within Cygwin is actually the Windows folder C:\cygwin\home\username. You'll need to know where this is if you want to find your files using traditional Windows navigation, such as when you want to submit them.
• Linux: Any self-respecting Linux distribution already has the g++ compiler installed.

Installing zchaff

• Navigate to the zchaff website, select the current 32 bit version, answer the question about why you're using the software, and download the zip file to a location of your own choosing. Unzip the contents of the file somewhere that you can access from your command prompt.
• Using your command prompt (terminal window or cygwin window, depending on which operating system you are using), navigate to the directory where you unzipped the zchaff files. Type make at the prompt to compile all of the code.
• When complete, you will have an executable zchaff file (called zchaff on Mac/Linux, or zchaff.exe on Windows). Copy that file somewhere into your path where it can be automatically found. To do this, in your terminal window, type    echo $PATH    which will show you a list of all directories that are automatically searched whenever you execute a command. Pick on of these to copy your zchaff executable into.
• If the above worked, you should be able to navigate to any random directory you like, type zchaff, and you should see the program respond.