Free C++ compiler for Windows?

[alcramer]

Can anyone recomend a free C++ compiler for Windows? I've been using Visual C++ 2003 .NET, but am having to move from Windows XP to Windows Vista, and am nervous about some rumored compatibility issues relating to Vista's security policies. Has anybody here used Borland, Ming, or Digital Mars (etc.) compilers in a Vista context? I realize MFC is out but that's cool, the UI layer of my app is thin and I can easily recode to use Win32 SDK.

Thanks!

[xav0989]

I used the Visual Studio Express suite 2005 and 2008 without any problem, on a half-broken, ultra slow vista no service pack box.

[shangyi]

there are plenty out there like DEV C++ and stuff but i use
Microsoft visual studio c++ express edition 2008 which is free
download at
http://www.microsoft.com/express/vc/

[ichwar]

I used the Visual Studio Express suite 2005 and 2008 without any problem, on a half-broken, ultra slow vista no service pack box.

Yeah, both visual studios: 2005, and 2008 work fine on windows vista. Why on earth do you want to downgrade to vista anyways? ;)

[alcramer]

Hi everybody & thanks for your replies!

My concern is with Visual C++ 2003 (not 2005, which seems to be downwardly compatible with Vista based on what I've seen on the net). I care about that because that's the version I have & I don't feel like giving (expletives deleted) MicroSoft 300$ for an IDE that's free for MAC and Linux.

As to why on earth I want to downgrade to Vista: what choice do I have? If you want to write an app that runs on Windows machines, you've got to make sure that it runs on current versions of their operating system. So I gotta deal with Vista. I really and truly hate that -- I wish 90% of the PC's out there were running Linux with apps using openGL -- but alas that's not the world we're lining in.

[nightscream]

vista and xp aren't that diffrent when programming it's more the memory security and such.

[noerrorsfound]

I care about that because that's the version I have & I don't feel like giving (expletives deleted) MicroSoft 300$ for an IDE that's free for MAC and Linux.

Uh, what? VC++ Express, as stated, is free, and I'm not sure where you got the idea that Microsoft has ever made a Linux/Mac IDE.

[kam11]

As to why on earth I want to downgrade to Vista: what choice do I have? If you want to write an app that runs on Windows machines, you've got to make sure that it runs on current versions of their operating system. So I gotta deal with Vista. I really and truly hate that -- I wish 90% of the PC's out there were running Linux with apps using openGL -- but alas that's not the world we're lining in.

[daman371]

Dev-cpp

[Submariner]

The biggest difference is the Code Access Security built in with Vista. If you disable CAS on the development box and write appliations, chances are you will be giving your Vista users a mess of popups since XP and earlier MS OS's ran with full permission.

To develop for multiple platforms you can use standard code for libraries for Unix/Windows, using the STL and standard C++ calls. Then use a different project file, on it's respective OS, to link to the respective libs. The library/executible enterence file will need to be OS specific. I've done this at a previous employer were we compiled for Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris (Sparc and Intel), and DEC Tru64. On the Unix flavors we used GNU's g++.

Setting this up initally is a bit of a pain, but once done rolling out new projects if fairly quick.

Enjoy.

James