I am currently using Visual C++ 6.0. I was just wondering if there are any free or cheap C++ compilers out there that people prefer over Visual C++? -Thanks

If your on windows im going to say no, msvc++ .NET 2003 is an EXCELENT compiler, most anyone who doesnt say micro$oft when they mean microsoft will tell you the same thing. MSVC++ .NET 2003 costs about 100 bucks (which even i could afford) But if you insist on not using a microsoft compiler you might want to look into mingw (Dev-c++) though i would NEVER reccomend it over MSVC++. Now if linux is also an option, ive heard great things about the gcc compilers (mingw is a windows port), back to the windows world again, i know borland also offers a compiler though i know absolutely nothing about it.
Hope that helps
-Dan

Actualy MSVC (7.1/2003) compiler is free. It's the IDE that will cost you about $100.

There's MinGW under windows, which is a minimalist version of the GNU C++ compiler for Windows.

There's currently two decent IDEs for free, try Bloodshed's DevC++ or there's Parinya's MinGW Developer Studio.

Personally, I prefer DevC++ over MinGW studio.

Microsoft have also released their Visual C++ toolkit, which is basically the optimising compiler and linker that comes with VC++ 7.1. It's totally free!

I've read reports that people have been able to use the VC toolkit under MSVC 6, but that's after tweaking a lot of settings. As of yet, I don't think people using IDEs like MinGW studio or DevC++ can use the VC toolkit. I toyed with the possibility of writing a small command line proxy application which called the VC toolkit instead of MinGW, but haven't got round to doing anything with it yet.

Personally, I think Microsfot make the best IDEs, so if you can afford the £100 or so that VC++ .NET costs, I'd recommend it, especially if you can replace the compiler with the new optimising compiler in the toolkit.

I personally use Borlands free compiler and gcc. I tried to use the free version of Visual C++ but could never get it to work (I could never find compatible versions of the standard library and couldn't be bothered to spend too much time searching). I personally like to use a compiler from the command line (none of this fancy IDE stuff - that would be far too productive [lol]) and from my experience bcc32 and gcc are much easier to use this way.

I also like the error messages that the Borland compiler gives. I find them to be generally much more user friendly (Like Warning W8049 file.cpp line: Use '> >' for nested templates instead of '>>' in function function()). I don't think there's that much to choose between them really unless you're really pushing the boundaries of standard compliance, so pick at least two that you like and use them.

Enigma

I use the free Borland compiler, and I've adjusted Crimson Editor to work as my IDE (albeit a little basic). I plan to switch to something more commercial once I have the (excess) money to do so. I could go for it now, but it'd mean a rather large sacrifice [wink].

oh shut up about your damn .net, you should try the digital mars C++ compiler its command line and very easy to use

thanks for the replies.

If you are already using VC 6++ I dob't think upgrading to ,NET is really worth the USD100.

If you are not using it for the .NET managed code - unlikely with hardcore OpenGL then I think you'll feel cheated at paying $100 for some slight UI upgrades.

I don't think for the average user who doesn't pay for the enterprise version with its optimized compiler - that you'll notice much difference between the compiler of VC6++ and the .NET one

Quote: Original post by Dingo_aus
If you are already using VC 6++ I dob't think upgrading to ,NET is really worth the USD100.

If you are not using it for the .NET managed code - unlikely with hardcore OpenGL then I think you'll feel cheated at paying $100 for some slight UI upgrades.

I don't think for the average user who doesn't pay for the enterprise version with its optimized compiler - that you'll notice much difference between the compiler of VC++6 and the .NET one

There's a very good reason for upgrading to .NET (not that I use it - I use gcc) - its much more standards compliant than VC6++. You can forget about anything that uses friend functions in template classes in VC++6. Perfectly legal (not even abusive) c++ code fails to compile in it very often.

You may want to look into the intel compiler - I've never used it but I hear its very fast.