Which C++ compiler?

A

Advocate

New member
Hi all,

I am a complete newbie to programming but would like to try and follow the tutorials on Nehe's site. As I don't currently have a C++ compiler which would you recommend? Prefereably a free one :s
 
MS Visual C++ is probably your best choice. The MSDN CD that comes with it has a bunch of OpenGL functions in it, so if you need help on a non-extension related statement, it's easy to get. I'm not sure about the new versions of it, though: I'm using v6.0.
 
Yeah, it isn't free. There are quite a few free ones though (ones that come to mind are Borland's C++ 5 (command line only) and MinGW32 (GCC for Windows) and LCC-W32).
 
Advocate said:
I take it that one ISN'T free.....bet it costs a packet as well... :(
Click to expand...

Oh. . . yeah. . . :) It's much cheaper than getting the whole Visual Studio package, though. :D
 
Advocate said:
How much is much cheaper?
Click to expand...

Well, I can't find the price for Visual C++ 6.0, but I found it for Visual C++ .NET. . . It's $169 Canadian, while the full Visual Studio .NET is $1729. :)
 
DevC++ is a good Free IDE it uses the mingw32 compiler I belive.. you can download it from http://www.bloodshed.net/dev/devcpp.html

It takes some getting used to but what can you ask from a free IDE for windows....

also I wouldn't recomend getting Visual C++ .NET to start... try to find 6.0 insted if you feel like buying it



Also you might want to look into the eclipse project it's another free IDE..... http://www.eclipse.org It's mainly designed for java but they have an implementation for C++ that there working on. I havn't personally used the C++ part of the IDE (maybe I'll check it out this weekend), but I love it overall It allows me to use the same IDE no matter what OS I'm using. It's got really good backing heres the current board member list:

Borland, IBM, MERANT, QNX Software Systems, Rational Software, RedHat, SuSE, TogetherSoft, Serena, Sybase, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Instantiations, MontaVista, Scapa Technologies, Telelogic and Trans-Enterprise Integration, ETRI, HP, MKS and SlickEdit

Like I said it's got some really good backing
 
Old Watcom C/C++ will is now open sourced and you can download an upgrade for it. However, according to the site you must have installed the commercial CD first to install the available patch. BUT, you can download the patch, extract the files, but then you must setup all directories and paths by yourself. The include files aren't included in the patch either :(. The executionables are included though.

I still use Watcom C v11 even if Visual C is better for windows nowdays. A complete version of OpenWatcom will soon be available, hopefully.

www.openwatcom.org
 
Last edited:
OK thanks for all your help guys, I've managed to get hold of a (official) copy of Visual C++ 6.

Now all I need are some tutorials on learning C++ and learning OpenGL or DX in C++.....some "tutorials for the simple minded" would be nice ;)
 
Advocate said:
OK thanks for all your help guys, I've managed to get hold of a (official) copy of Visual C++ 6.

Now all I need are some tutorials on learning C++ and learning OpenGL or DX in C++.....some "tutorials for the simple minded" would be nice ;)
Click to expand...
If you are willing to pay a little bit, I like the the Prima Tech Game development series.
I find Beginning Direct3D Game Programming by Wolfgang F. Engel and Amir Geva and OpenGL Game Programming by Kevin Hawkins and Dave Astle both very good starting material for Windows game programming, and both even come with a decent physics and math primer.

<rant>
That said, I'm not much of a fan for VC++ 6. Sure it produces some amazing code, but it turns my ANSI C++ code to shitz. I prefer Metrowerks and Borland, but getting DirectX to work with them... well... they're not Microsoft, what can I say.

And before someone tells me to go get a life and use all the compilers... I have used all three of them and more, to varying degrees. VS.NET and VS 6, Borland C++Builder 6 and Borland C++ 5.02, and Metrowerks 4-8, gcc 2.8.2 and gcc 3. Yes, I spent too much money, but what can I say, I'm a sucker for compilers, and edu discounts are great ;)

I firmly believe that to get the most out of C++, you need a compiler that's close to ANSI compliance (aka good STL and obeys rules), easy to use, and decent speed. Metrowerks comes the closest to that, though Borland users still argue they have the best compliance. Matter of opinion I guess, but some testing showed their STL wasn't all that great. Works for me though.

I've had some pretty annoying problems under VS 6 with stuff like variable scope and such... VS.NET is better, but a bit complicated to use.
</rant>

edit: I forgot to mention... if you REALLY want to start from the beginning, pick up Windows Game Programming for Dummies for Andre LaMothe, which introduces you to DirectX programming in 2D, and grab STL Tutorial and Reference Guide, Second Edition by David R. Musser, Gillmer J. Derge, and Atul Saini. If you need to learn C/C++ from the very beginning... there are lots of those, just look on Amazon. But make sure the C++ book touches a bit on STL. I learned my C++ from C++ for You++ for my CS class, and the book isn't half bad, but I think you can do better for 30 bucks.

Also, does anyone know how to convert VC++ static libraries to input libraries?
 
Last edited:
Re: Which C++ compiler?

Advocate said:
Hi all,

I am a complete newbie to programming but would like to try and follow the tutorials on Nehe's site. As I don't currently have a C++ compiler which would you recommend? Prefereably a free one :s
Click to expand...

Learn C++ first (even the OOP stuff), only then start with NeHe's stuff. Trust me, if you want to actually be able to do more than copy code off a website, you'll take the time to learn the language.

VC++ is the best IDE I've used period. This is ONLY because of the debugger.
 
Good Free Compiler

Good Free Compiler

Well I know you can Download Borland 5.5 open Version and that is pretty good. I know I use gcc and g++ with this editor that can be seen at http://anjuta.sourceforge.net I cannot say enough for this compiler, it is fast, clean, and is getting better every new release, best of all it is free
 
Re: Good Free Compiler

Re: Good Free Compiler

I could be wrong here, but just write to MS and ask.

I though last year MS said that if any student wanted to copy a MSDEV CD (NOT ENTERPRISE VERSION) and so long as they were NOT making money, i.e. strictly for educational purchases, then you were infact aloowed the CD's. I remember reading this memorandum at school one day ..

check it out, it'll only cost you an email !
 
Basically if your work or institutution has a valid licenced copy of MSDN you can take a copy of it, or install it on your own PC. (not much use when it's a DVD though).

AFAIK it does not apply to software unless it is an educational institution with a specific academic license.
 
The ms .net carnival came to my university the other week (in the UK). The guy seemed to be suggesting that computer science students that required it for project work could get a free copy. He was a bit vague about how it's done but I'm not sure it's been set up yet.
 
Check your school book store, they probably have access to cheap copies of VC++/Visual Studio 6.0 (if not VS .NET). As mentioned above, the debugger is second to none for doing Windows and Xbox programming. Edit and Continue is just one of the many many cool features. (Let's you change code while your program is running and 'recomplile' it without exiting your program - great for fixing quick little bugs during game development)

-Sil
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top