Hi, I'm very very sorry, but I'm a novice in Allegro (and C programming in general), and I haven't found a good answer to my problem online, so I'll ask here, at a risk of coming off as a giant noob (that I probably am ):
After following the quickstart guide here, I've encountered an unexpected problem of not being able to compile hello.c using MinGW. The command supplied:

gcc hello.c -o hello.exe $(pkg-config allegro-5 allegro_font-5 --libs --cflags)

does not work, and I'm not sure how to link the libraries using -l commands. I'm almost certain that I've configured the library correctly (following the guide).
I'd simply like to know how to successfully compile the code using cmd and MinGW. I've seen somthings about CMake, but I have absolutely no idea how to use it, and if possible, avoid it (at least until I'll understand what it does).

The command above produces:

gcc: error: $(pkg-config: No such file or directory
gcc: error: allegro-5: No such file or directory
gcc: error: allegro_font-5: No such file or directory
gcc: error: unrecognized command line option '--libs'
gcc: error: unrecognized command line option '--cflags)'

The command above, but without the dollar sign and stuff in parenthesis (gcc hello.c -o hello.exe) produces:

c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x21): undefined reference to `al_install_system'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x26): undefined reference to `al_install_keyboard'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x34): undefined reference to `al_create_timer'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x40): undefined reference to `al_create_event_queue'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x5b): undefined reference to `al_create_display'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x67): undefined reference to `al_create_builtin_font'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x73): undefined reference to `al_get_keyboard_event_source'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x86): undefined reference to `al_register_event_source'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x95): undefined reference to `al_get_display_event_source'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0xa8): undefined reference to `al_register_event_source'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0xb7): undefined reference to `al_get_timer_event_source'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0xca): undefined reference to `al_register_event_source'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0xe1): undefined reference to `al_start_timer'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0xf8): undefined reference to `al_wait_for_event'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x13e): undefined reference to `al_is_event_queue_empty'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x166): undefined reference to `al_map_rgb'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x193): undefined reference to `al_clear_to_color'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x1ba): undefined reference to `al_map_rgb'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x211): undefined reference to `al_draw_text'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x216): undefined reference to `al_flip_display'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x232): undefined reference to `al_destroy_font'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x241): undefined reference to `al_destroy_display'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x250): undefined reference to `al_destroy_timer'
c:/mingw/bin/../lib/gcc/mingw32/8.2.0/../../../../mingw32/bin/ld.exe: C:\Users\DAWIDP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\cceUBMFy.o:hello.c:(.text+0x25f): undefined reference to `al_destroy_event_queue'

Any help would be appreciated .

1. I downloaded this release from github: allegro-x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc-8.2.1-posix-seh-static-5.2.5.1.zip
2. I'm using the libraries supplied with the download, not sure what libraries are monolithic or addon,
3. What command should I use to link the libraries? Should I just pass all 56 .a files with -l? How can I determine which ones to use?

I tried using, gcc hello.c -lallegro-static -lallegro_font-static -o hello.exe, but to no avail.
Once again, sorry for not being able to find answers on web.

1. My version of GCC is 8.2.0-5; I know it's not 8.2.1, but I hope it's close enough, since there's no 8.2.0 build and I know building the library myself may be tiresome. Also, I just now noticed that allegro builds are only 64 bit, but AFAIK MinGW is only offering GCC in 32bit format (I'm running Windows 10 64bit). Am I missing something?

2&3&4. The program uses only the allegro5.h and allegro_font.h. I'm pretty sure I want to compile statically (so no .dll, right?) so I tried using -lallegro-static -lallegro_font-static, but it's the same error. Same with -lallegro_monolith-static.

So is the cause the difference in bits? Cause if so, since MinGW is only 32 bit (AFAIK) do I have to compile the library myself?

Edit: See, this is why you shouldn't live under a rock, cause it turned out there is a 64 MinGW that I had no idea about. I'll check it out and report later. Also, I just found out that i686 means 32-bit, so... uh... yeah...

Ok, at first it threw an error about missing libraries; I get those, and the same error occurs! I'll try using mingw-w64 now, maybe this'll help...
Edit: I dunno, now I get some weird errors... Oh well, I'll work on it tomorrow when I'll wake up. Thanks for help anyway.

No need to use a pastebin when posting large output on Allegro.cc. The Web is not IRC. Just post them here. It'll be fine. I doubt the output could be any larger than a megabyte or so. Of course, you could also put the output into a file and attach it.

On a side note, I get the feeling that Edgar may be assuming a certain level of knowledge/experience that you may not meet. If you feel you don't understand the advice you're given that's OK. Just say so.

There's also the old adage that if you teach a man to fish they'll eat for life. It's great to find out what you're missing, but it's even better to understand what's happening so you can figure it out for yourself next time. If you have any questions about why you need to do something ask.