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Available IDEs
Our first task then, is to select a development environment. If your computer is running a flavour of Linux, your options for an IDE will necessarily be different
than if it is running Microsoft's Windows. Users running a Linux operating system have a selection of open source projects to fill their
development needs. There are a number of high quality IDEs with free public licences that Linux users may choose from including Anjuta, KDevelop, and Code::Blocks. Windows users also
have a substantial pool of high quality development environments to choose from. Unfortunately, many of these IDEs require the user to pay for a licence
to use them. Of course, the use of peer-to-peer clients
put these development tools within reach to all. For those users not wanting to pay for a licence, a number of free C++ IDEs
are available.
Foremost within the list of free IDEs is Code::Blocks. It is available for both Windows and Linux users. Code::Blocks is an open source project that has the point where it successfully competes with products from Microsoft and Borland - just to name a few. Because I have an interest in democratizing
my articles so that Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows users are given equal consideration, Code::Blocks will be used for project examples throughout this site.
If readers are inclined to convert project source code to other package formats and want to share with the community, submit them to Godvalve and they will be added to the end of the appropriate article.
Visual Studio 2008 is the industry standard on the Windows OS and it costs a significant amount to acquire in its fully featured version. However, Microsoft seems to have realized that open source software has become a significant contender to its market dominance and has decided to release a free version of their IDE that they are calling the 'Express' edition. This IDE
works well on Windows 7, Vista, and XP. If you decide to use it for your projects, remember to download the service packs from Microsoft's server or to allow Windows Update to maintian updates.
DevC++ is
another open source IDE but it appears as if development on it has stalled. DevC++ 5.0 is still in beta at the time of this writing and does have
a few glitches which make it frustrating to use, but it is a superior version compared to the stable v4.0 release. With high quality alternative open source IDEs such as Code::Blocks available, there is no real reason to use this IDE. Other IDEs exist for C++
including Borland's C++Builder, and the CodeWarrior Development Studio. Installation of whichever IDE you choose should be straight forward.
Refer to help files on the IDE you select for information about installation.
Obtaining MS Visual Studio 2008:
The fully featured version of Visual Studio can be purchased at your local computer store or found through a software
dealer on the internet. For those of you that insist on running this IDE but can't make money grow on trees, try an alternative method of acquisition or download the very capable 'Express' version. The fully featured version of the software
comes in several flavours: Standard Edition, Professional Edition, and Enterprise Edition.
In the past, if you happened to be a student, Microsoft would sell you a copy of the standard edition at a special rate providing that you show
your student card. I bought a copy of Visual C++ 6.0 a number of years ago through this program. If you are considering the purchase of Visual Studio, I recommend
sticking with the professional edition over the standard edition as it includes a number of features
that you will find useful later on.
Obtaining Dev C++:
Dev C++ is freely available on the internet from BloodShed Software. The IDE
is currently stable at version 4.0 while version 5.0 is available in beta. The installer for either version
is available for download here.
Obtaining Code::Blocks:
Code::Blocks is the IDE that I will use predominately throughout my articles. It is available for users of Linux, Mac OS X, as well as Windows.
Regardless of what operating system you are using, Code::Blocks may be obtained from the main website at www.codeblocks.org.
Consider using one of the Code::Blocks nightly builds since the stable version of this IDE is quite outdated and suffers from a number of issues. Nightly builds are available for all platforms.
Linux users may also obtain Code::Blocks through the software repository of their preferred distribution.
