The best option depends on the skill level of the programmer and how much time they want to invest setting up the tools. For a new programmer, the Microsoft Visual Studio Express packages are most likely to "just work" with minimum hassle. However, I'm a Unix dev myself, and I would definitely install emacs + cygwin if I were stuck working on Windows.
Working with compilers and tools made by Microsoft is probably the quickest way for a new programmer to get up and running. Also, you will also find more help on the internet for problems that you run into with Visual Studio than a more obscure setup like gcc running under cygwin. If you are using Visual C++, there are probably a million other people in the world using the exact same setup. However, the benefit of learning on Unix tools like gcc, g++, and cygwin is that the skills are portable to other platforms. You will be able to work on Windows, Mac, and Linux using the same tools in the future. Also, you will get a better idea of how your tools work. Microsoft IDEs hide a lot of the details from you. Lastly, you will be supporting open source software. Microsoft provides a version of their current compilers for free, but there is nothing to stop them from charging in the future. Also, they don't provide the source code to their products, so the knowledge of how to build them is locked up inside Microsoft and not shared with the community. On Tue, Apr 20, 2010 at 9:55 PM, shravan kumar <[email protected]> wrote: > If you are coding in c/c++ I would recommend gcc on linux,or MinGW for > windows.I don't find any reason to use an IDE.A basic text editor and > command compiler is enough in my opinion. > > On 21 April 2010 00:35, Jacob Lyles <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Also, you are a little wrong about your assumptions for which compiler you >> can use. You must use one of the many compilers that are available freely. >> You can not use a compiler that you paid for but which is not available >> freely. >> >> On Tue, Apr 20, 2010 at 11:51 AM, Jacob Lyles <[email protected]> >> wrote: >>> >>> What kind of operating system are you using? A compiler for almost every >>> programming language is available freely for almost every platform, but the >>> way that you get them is different. >>> If you are on linux, you should have access to gcc (for C) and g++ (for >>> C++) through your OS package manager, as well as compilers and interpreters >>> for languages that are more user-friendly (Java, Python, Ruby, PHP, etc. ). >>> Many of these are probably already installed, just go to your terminal and >>> type the name of the compiler to see ("python", for example). >>> For C++ on Windows, Microsoft Visual Studio Express is free >>> (http://www.microsoft.com/express/Downloads/). You can also use C# (download >>> at the same link) which is probably more user-friendly. .exe installers for >>> nearly every other language will be available through the language makers' >>> websites. >>> Macs usually come with gcc, g++, javac (the Java compiler), and Python >>> installed. Just go to the terminal app and type in the name of your favorite >>> compiler. If you don't have it, then there should be a DMG download on the >>> website of the group that produces the compiler. >>> If you are rusty on your programming, I suggest working through a few >>> examples in whatever programming language/environment you choose before the >>> competition. There should be a tutorial for almost every language that >>> covers installation through building a simple program. This is especially >>> true if you are working on Windows in a popular language. >>> Good luck! >>> Jacob >>> >>> On Tue, Apr 20, 2010 at 11:34 AM, Jaspreet Kaur >>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>> hey Cong, >>>> Thanks for replying. Any suggestions for websites to download these?? >>>> And which z d best of all you mentioned? >>>> Regards, >>>> JK >>>> >>>> On 4/20/10, Thanh Le Cong <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> > *Hi!* >>>> > ** >>>> > *I don't think you will get it! >>>> > *You will download a open source compiler such as NetBeans, C# >>>> > Develope, >>>> > DevCPP and so on. >>>> > Have much to you choose! >>>> > >>>> > *Have a good time!* >>>> > -- >>>> > Lê Công Thành >>>> > http://edulab.com.vn/codepro >>>> > http://codepro.edulab.com.vn >>>> > http://fit.utehy.edu.vn/codepro >>>> > >>>> > -- >>>> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> > Groups >>>> > "google-codejam" group. >>>> > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> > [email protected]. >>>> > For more options, visit this group at >>>> > http://groups.google.com/group/google-code?hl=en. >>>> > >>>> > >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "google-codejam" group. >>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> [email protected]. >>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/google-code?hl=en. >>>> >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "google-codejam" group. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected]. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/google-code?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "google-codejam" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/google-code?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "google-codejam" group. 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