Hey guys,
I'm a relatively experienced coder, familiar with all the basics including OOP. I've been coding in Actionscript 3.0 off and on for about 2 years now and I feel its time to make the jump to C/C++. I was just wondering what tools you'd recommend for someone just getting started.
I'd prefer to have an editor with automatic code completion, that can automatically check for basic errors in the syntax/code, and can interpret/compile the program. Pretty basic stuff. I'd also prefer to be free, since I'm not doing anything serious just yet.
Any ideas what I should go with?
Good C/C++ Tools For A Beginner?
Visual studio has a free version that is probably the best thing you'll find in windows, and has a large userbase (read: help via online searches)
Yeah I agree with the post above, you should get Visual Studio as your IDE seeing how it is largely popular. Also, don't jump straight into the game development, C/C++ is a bit complicated at times, but you'll get used to it. Glad you decided you'd jump into a lower level though :] Best wishes.
Another vote for Visual Studio. There are other good free (and Free) alternatives, but VC++ Express will cost you nothing but the time spent downloading and installing it, so it's worth a try. And - and I know I have harped on about this before, but... - Microsoft really do have the flat-out best debugging tools available, and these are absolutely of critical importance when you start doing non-trivial C/C++ programs. A good debugger is a vital part of your tool set, and they really don't come any better.
With C++ on windows, there are absolutely no good reasons to use anything but Visual C++ unless you are one of those people with an unabiding hatred of all things Microsoft.
Otherwise that basically leaves CodeBlocks as dedicated C++ IDEs.
Netbeans can also do a passable job at C++, Eclipse can do C++ too, but it sucks in a way that you almost have to try at to suck that hard, so obviously I don't recommend it.
In the land of Linux, you have the additional option of kdevelop, which is basically a Visual C++ 6 clone, but some people swear by the VC6 IDE for some odd reason.
Finally, there is DevC++, but the only reason you would choose this option is a) you like making things harder on yourself b) you have some form of mental condition.
With all that said, NetBeans is actually a remarkably straight forward C++ environment and is probably easier to learn than Visual Studio. That said, community support is nowhere near as good.
Finally I suppose there are Emacs and Vim, but reallity is, only old people with beards and power-nerds use these solutions anymore.
Otherwise that basically leaves CodeBlocks as dedicated C++ IDEs.
Netbeans can also do a passable job at C++, Eclipse can do C++ too, but it sucks in a way that you almost have to try at to suck that hard, so obviously I don't recommend it.
In the land of Linux, you have the additional option of kdevelop, which is basically a Visual C++ 6 clone, but some people swear by the VC6 IDE for some odd reason.
Finally, there is DevC++, but the only reason you would choose this option is a) you like making things harder on yourself b) you have some form of mental condition.
With all that said, NetBeans is actually a remarkably straight forward C++ environment and is probably easier to learn than Visual Studio. That said, community support is nowhere near as good.
Finally I suppose there are Emacs and Vim, but reallity is, only old people with beards and power-nerds use these solutions anymore.
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