quote: Original post by Martee
Well, in Linux, you will most likely want to use _the_ compiler, GCC. There are other compilers out there, but GCC is by far the most common.

I have a feeling you might be referring to an IDE when you talk about ease of use. Check out http://www.kdevelop.org.

~~~~~~~~~~
Martee

I agree. Really, there''s no point in using something other than gcc, except when you need special features not available in gcc. (Like intel syntax assembly, gcc uses gas syntax.) For the large part, since you''re beginning, gcc is a professional grade compiler that is as (or nearly as) good as many other compilers.

It''s run from the command line, so if you''re not experienced with it use it for a bit. You also could run it from kdevelop, like Martee said, which organizes your files and code for you.

Both should come with Mandrake, unless they pulled some things out since 6.5.

Just some idle, friendly info:

1. For Intel syntax assembly, try the Netwide Assembler, NASM.

2. GCC actually now stands for the GNU Compiler Collection , as opposed to the GNU C Compiler. This means that, properly/fully installed, you have support for several languages - C (cc), C++ (g++), Fortran (g77), Java (gcj), Objective-C (?), and more. In other words, you''re more equipped than most of your Windows contemporaries!

How does the command-line instruction ''gcc'' tell the difference between programming languages? The extensions of the source files, so be very careful about which ones you choose. In certain instances, you may be able to specify the compiler to use, Unix shell script-style (e.g. #!/usr/bin/g++), but this isn''t standard so don''t count on it.

Good luck!