I have a much better idea :
1) Look how the current HL weapons are coded.
2) Create a very simple weapon (copy/paste not allowed).
2a) If your weapon works, good for you.
2b) If your weapon doesn't work, try finding what causes the problem and attempt to fix it by yourself. If you can't, you may ask for help.
3) PROFIT !
Oh and by the way, this might help :
http://www.moddb.com/members/shepard62fr/blogs/hints-tips-for-gold-source-programmingEDIT : You can download the free Express edition of Visual Studio 2013 here :
https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/download-visual-studio-vs