I have been programming a lot in college and have a basic understanding on how to program. All the time the programming environment was configured and all necessary files were provided. Even the source files were pre-filled, where I had to only add essential lines of code. Thus, I learned the programming language and how to code, but I have no idea what is necessary besides the code to make a working application.
Now, when I want to make my own application, what is necessary to have except the functional programming code? What files are created automatically for me (such as in MS Visual Studio 2008 C++), what other files/libraries should be included by me? What are the essential project settings i should pay attention to? etc.
Most of the tutorials I found cover programming essentials and rarely mention the questions above. If someone could name the topics that cover these questions, I would greatly appreciate. The links to educational sources would be welcome.