[flytape8490]

Every time i go about learning a new programming language, I have the worst time finding a decent compiler. I need a C/C++ compiler that will turn my .cpp files into .exe files, and it has to be a windows app, NOT DOS/DOS GUI PLUGIN. It also has to be free, or a trial version not limited to usage ammounts. Oh, yeah> Please include a link. This all'd be pointless without a download link.

In short, i need a c++ compiler that meets ALL of these requirements...
* Free
* If it is a free trial, it can NOT be limited to uses

* Is a windows program, NOT A DOS/DOS GUI PLUGIN
* Turns .cpp into .exe
* small or fast (preferably small)
* Easy to use (for like... a 5 year old at least)
* runs on a windows (sigh...) Milennium
* just plain works

I should probably appolagize for any possible rudeness conveyed by this post. None was intended.

[brendandonhu]

Dev-C++

[flytape8490]

any links?

[GCDude]

www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html

[brendandonhu]

The compiler and IDE are separate, any free IDE is going to be a front-end for a command-line compiler AFAIK.

[Shadow2531]

Mingw is the compiler used by Devc++. Mingw is free, small and should work on WinME for most stuff.

At mingw.org, you can download the packages ou need and set things up yourself or use one of their packages to install mingw. With mingw, to compile, you load command.com and type g++ -Wall -Wextra file.cpp -o file to produce file.exe. You also have to add to your command path variable for Windows ME so command.com knows where to find the executables.

Mingw has windows api headers so you make windows gui programs too, but you have to know how to do that and how to create a window process, handler and windows message loop etc., but it can be done. Once thing you have to do is add the -mwindows option to the compile command.

STL's mingw distro is also available that has the packages you need.

However, you still have to type the commands manually to compile unless you use devc++ as a front end, but if you don't know how to configure devc++ to use a separate distro of Mingw, then you are just better off downloading DevC++ with mingw together in a package.

MinGW doesn't work fully with the MS DirectX SDK, so if you plan on making directX apps, you may have to do some extra work. For opengl apps, you have to download opengl libraries to use with mingw.

Since you are using Windows ME, you might have to go to extra trouble if dealing with unicode in your application. Plus command line support is inferior compared to winXP.

If you don't know how to use the windows api, you can use wxwidgets. However, you have to be able to set that up also.

For free, mingw will probably be the best.

[InterKnight]

I just found a very promising program today which doesn't seem to have too much attention yet. It has a visual GUI editor and such built into it, and it uses the Dev-C++ compiler. It is called wx-DevC++. It seems to be something worth looking into, and if you decide to do so you can find support here in the wx-DevCpp forums.

Hope this will be of some help to you...I'm still quite new to C++ myself...well, to Windows programming, anyhow...

Take care.