I am just wondering what the best C++ compiler is, both for game programming and for "visual" OOP windows application programming as far as power and ease-of-use, etc. Is it Visual C++, C++ Builder, etc? Or does it make a difference at all? Just curious, give me your input.

What is better, a hammer or a spanner? Depends what you want to do. In computing, there is rarely any ''overall best'' thing, whether you''re talking compilers, APIs, processors, etc.

Apparently the Intel compiler has the best profiler, and probably the best optimiser for Intel chips.

Microsoft Visual C++ seems to have the best debugger, best editing environment, better build settings, and more compatibility with libraries. Some of those points are subjective, though.

Borland C++ Builder is by far the quickest for building visual applications in if you want to work in C++. I built a very workable program in less than 12 hrs for tracking and storing bugs and features (similar to a very stripped-down SourceForge thing). I am sure it would have taken much longer in Visual C++. It also appears to have better standards support than MSVC++.

I''ve used VC++ and Borland, but I like Visual C++ a whole lot better. It has a ton of very nice features that makes it easy to use. But Borland is also a good compiler.

I prefer VC++ as and IDE. The text editor feels more responsive and the keys are much more natural in VC++, example that comes to mind is indenting a block of text(just select and use tab or shift-tab in VC++, in borland, it is CTRL-K-I and CTRL-K-L). Finding matching parenthese( usefull for old crappy 3000 lines function from work code...please DO NOT DO THAT!). CTRL-{ and CTRL-} in VC++, in borland some other CTRL-LETTER-LETTER crap.

But as a compiler, Borland kicks MS butt. It compiles faster, has much better optimisation and is almost fully C++ standard compliant. for the standardization, Borland is on par with GNU compiler and Metrowerks compiler.

Also, VCL(Borland equivalent of MFC) is much more powerfull and easier to write. You actually do like VB. You create your form, then you write C++ code for the actions. It is very good.

So my favorite is Borland. And the nice thing is that Borland give away their compiler. You can download it for free from their website with a nice debugger. It is dos based, but still very powerfull and feature rich. And it is the same compiler they give with C++ builder. No removed feature whatsoever.

www.borland.com search for free compiler and Tools 5.5.

quote:
So my favorite is Borland. And the nice thing is that Borland give away their compiler. You can download it for free from their website with a nice debugger. It is dos based, but still very powerfull and feature rich. And it is the same compiler they give with C++ builder. No removed feature whatsoever.

This point has been beaten to death around here, but commandline != DOS. The Borland free compiler is no more DOS-based than VC++, gcc, BCB full version or even VB.

quote:Original post by Anonymous Poster

This point has been beaten to death around here, but commandline != DOS. The Borland free compiler is no more DOS-based than VC++, gcc, BCB full version or even VB.

the compiler is win32 but i think the debugger is an old DOS app

The Turbo Debugger package you can d/l for free is actually both DOS and Win32. The Win32 debugger is a 32 bit win-program. The 16 bit-debugger is a dos proggy. I don''t know why they even bother to include the 16 bit version, especially considering that the downloadable compiler only generates 32 bit apps... But I guess they just used a ready TD package as a quick solution, so that those who download their compiler won''t be completely without a debugger.

One more thing, The borland compiler does not optimize better than VC++. Especially floating-point performance is better on VC++.

There is a reason most games are not built with Borland tools.

Hmm...i think that MSVC with new processor packs is much-much bettr than BC. And my favourite, very optimizing compiler is iNtel C++ 5.0

I haven''t tried Borland yet but I have tried Turbo C++ and Visual C++ 5 and 6. I like Visual C++ better just because it''s better eye candy I guess. I''m new to all this programming and stuff, and I just think Visual C++ is better because my two of my cousins use it. That''s my input anyway.