Just started C++, Compiler question.

[Helepolis]

Just started my first programming course ever, C++. They want us to use a compiler called "bloodshed dev c++" which is not compatible with windows 8. If I use another compiler that is compatible will it affect my work or will any compiler do?

 

I have access to Microsoft Visual Studio 2012.

[alpenwasser]

You should be able to use any other compiler. There are differences between compilers,

but those mainly concern either advanced features or curios idiosyncrasies nowadays.

I would consider it not very likely that such advanced features are required in an

introductory course, so you should be fine.

I mainly work in Linux, which uses the GNU compiler collection (gcc, or g++ for C++ mode),

and for simpler programs (which I would think your introductory course will stick to)

I can easily compile code that comes from a Windows environment.

Also, when I did my first C++ course in college, the students had all sorts of operating

systems (different versions of Windows, OS X, Linux), and we were fine.

Basically, any good compiler should stick to the standard as close as possible, so there

shouldn't be any major problems on the level you will most likely be programming.

What O/S would the compiler require? Win 7?

EDIT: I'm not expert on Visual Studio, but from what I've heard and read, that

compiler is quite good, so you should be fine imho.

EDIT 2: Am I missing something or is the latest version of that compiler rather old

(2005-ish)? :o

EDIT 3 :lol: : Yeah I know it's an IDE ;)

[ACK]

bloodshed dev c++ is not a compiler its an IDE (Integrated Development environment). Dev C++ uses gcc as it's compiler and they probably told you to use it because it has gcc built in compered to other IDEs that require gcc pre-installed, which for a student might be a little tricky. 

For the types of programs you will make for start I don't see any problem with using a different compiler but generally compilers have some differences.

If you want to install gcc you can read this guide https://netbeans.org/community/releases/60/cpp-setup-instructions.html

I have found to be the most helpful and it also helped my younger brother install gcc.

After you install gcc you can use netbeans or codeblocks or any other c++ IDE you want that uses gcc as the compiler.

[Spartan-S63]

GCC can be installed on Windows, but it's a bit of a pain to do so. If you decide to install that compiler, there's a whole host of IDEs that will hook into its toolchain.

 

If you want an all-in-one solution, just get Visual Studio 2012 Express Edition (for C++) or a higher edition if you have access to it. While the MS C++ compiler doesn't support all the C++11 standard, it's good enough. If you ever want to use more of the new features, you'll need to probably get GCC 4.7+ on Windows or switch to a Linux-based OS to leverage the tools there easily.

[Sundanc3]

In all honestly Windows is a terrible development environment in my opinion. In my Comp Sci classes where we had to use C/C++ anybody with a windows machine had to install software to mimic the Linux command line to use the g++ compiler. I believe the program was called Cygwin. A unix environment. i.e. Linux or Mac is great for C/C++ development. This is my own experience take it how you will. 

[WanderingFool]

As most people have said you should be fine with using VS 2012...but I would recommend trying to compile it on a school's PC.  Maybe things have changed in VS with C++ and C support, but I remember back in school learning c with the ansi flag set.  What would happen is a few classmates would use VS (2005 back then) and then have their assignment come back as 0, as they didn't compile using gcc (There can be minor difference in that VS might allow that a gcc compiler won't).

 

Actually as a recommendation if possible, always check you can compile on a school computer.  If you also need to submit an exe file then check it runs on a school computer as well.  There has been situations (schools computers were xp 64, my computer was xp 32) where my program would not compile on a school pc because of different environments.

[alpenwasser]

In all honestly Windows is a terrible development environment in my opinion. In my Comp Sci classes where we had to use C/C++ anybody with a windows machine had to install software to mimic the Linux command line to use the g++ compiler. I believe the program was called Cygwin. A unix environment. i.e. Linux or Mac is great for C/C++ development. This is my own experience take it how you will.

True, Linux/Unix-like systems are awesome for programming. And yes, Cygwin would be

a possibility for getting some of that goodness in Windows, although I've never used

it and don't know how well it functions.

If you can in any way get access to a Unix-like O/S and are even slightly versed in

using it, then that's an excellent option. And if you want to do some serious stuff

in the long term I would definitely recommend that.

[Sundanc3]

True, Linux/Unix-like systems are awesome for programming. And yes, Cygwin would be

a possibility for getting some of that goodness in Windows, although I've never used

it and don't know how well it functions.

If you can in any way get access to a Unix-like O/S and are even slightly versed in

using it, then that's an excellent option. And if you want to do some serious stuff

in the long term I would definitely recommend that.

 

Dual booting Linux would be an easy alternative. Red Hat linux, Linux Mint, and Ubuntu are all great versions of linux that are easy to use with great interfaces 

Then again. I can vouch for the functionality of cygwin as many of my friends have used it. However, I cannot promise an ease of setup for it. 

[Darkfeign]

Bloodshed Dev C++ looks to be compatible with windows, given that it uses MinGW designed to port GCC to windows. You'll be fine.

[Helepolis]

So... I couldn't figure  out how to make an exe file for the program a wrote(just a basic unit conversion porgram) using MS Visual 2012 ultimate(free with my program I'm taking).

[colonel_mortis]

I use visual studio, and it's a good tool with really useful syntax highlighting, suggestions and error checking. However, because the default settings will be different, if you can get bloodshed to work on your computer (compatibility desktop mode should work I think), that would be optimal.

On VS c++ compile as release (click on the DEBUG dropdown and select release) then it will be in the release folder of your program, default C:\Users\<user name>\Documents\Visual Studio 2012\Projects\<Project Name>\Release

You may need to install the MS VC++ redistributable on other computers you're running it on http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30679 or change the compiler settings: Go to your project, right click on it and go to properties -> Configuration Properties -> C/C++ -> Code Generation -> (At the top, select Release (or All) on the configuration dropdown) -> Runtime Library -> On the dropdown, select Multithreaded DLL (/MD) -> OK

[cosmo0093]

You should search for orwell dev-C++ on sourceforge, it's the up-to-date version of dev and it works on windows 8, or codeblocks 12.11. They're both great IDEs that don't eat up too many resources. 

[mtsprite]

I personally like the GCC compiler. Mostly because of the ease of use. Plus its what most developers use. If you wanna mainly dedicate your computer to programming or plan on becoming a professional programmer i would suggest that you try Linux (preferably Ubuntu), but if your just going to be coding for a class or as a hobby i would just in install MinGW (Windows version of GCC).

[cadel546]

here take it from a bloodshed user.

 

so i had to do my work on the Microsoft compiler(never did) , always worked on bloodshed and one time i took my work to the MS compiler and it wouldnt compile.. i would get errors about my variables not being initialized just set them all to 0 and that fixed it.

 

my point is MS compiler looks better, it will tell you about simple mistakes and sometimes bad programming habit

bloodshed is an easy compiler to use, no rules just code away.  don't know if i made my point lol