Hi, I'm now writing my apps in vb.net. But I'm thinking of making a winpe livecd, and that doesn't support the .net framework (and even if it did then it would be to large for a livecd that runs from ram). I considered realbasic, which uses a simular syntax ad vb, but when I'm switching I'd go directly the hard way and learn C. Also I'm planning to study informatics next year so C is a nice benefit. So any advice for a good programming suit? An up t date one that includes a form designer and everything you need. And maybe some tips about what to look at when learning C? Thanks, Stannieman
Well you don't really need t search for something, I don't want to waste your time. Just if you know some nice programs
Daz recommends Code Blocks which is a free IDE but you still need to get a compiler for it. This is fine for Linux and of course you can use the Visual Studio Express versions too with Code Blocks.
Ok I'll have a look at that one. Does it use standard C++? Cause I prefer standard C over some ide/compiler which makes it's own standards. And what about embarcadero's c++ builder? Is that a good one? And how does MS visual C++ work? If it uses standard c (unlikely when it's microsoft but who knows) and it can use an alternative native c++ compiler I'd use that.
When you say a native c++ compiler the standard one for windows is that written by Microsoft. GCC compiler is for Linux. Code Blocks is just an IDE not a compiler. It allows editing of source and then it runs in background the compiler of your choice which most probably will be Visual Studio Compiler. Visual Studio consists of 2 parts really, an Integrated Development Environment and a Build Environment (Compiler). The build environment is command line so it can be started by other IDE's. First thing to decide is your Operating System. If it's Linux then you'll be using GCC but I think you'll be windows based coming from a VB .Net background. There are several c++ compilers for windows, all are supposed to conform to the same standard but of course they never do. Microsoft Visual Studio embarcadero's as you have said Borland You can google for more. Next is how much do you want to spend? Visual Studio Express is free but has limitations. I don't know about other products but I would expect to have to pay for them. There's quite a lot of information here to consider so if you have further question just ask.
I have visual studio pro 2010, and I've heard that it follows the standards pretty well. But is it possible to compile native binaries with it? If so I'll use that one, otherwise I'd like an other compiler for VS.
What do you mean by native binaries? Where do you want to run them? Programs that run under windows use the Windows PE (Portable Execution) standard.
I didn't know the ide and compiler could be used seperately. But with native I mean independend of the any framework, including .net. I think most compilers like borland and embarcadero can do that? I also heard that visual c++ follows the standards pretty well, so that's ok. Only the compiler doesn't make native exes. So is it possible to use such a native compiler with visual studio? And about that standards. Which part decides what to use? Do you need to write so that the compiler understands it (with the compler's keywords etc) whatever ide you use? Or do you need to follow the ide and will that make shure the compiler understands it? So if it's possible to use visual studio with c++ builder, do I need to write "c++ builder c" or "visual studio c"?
Windows PE is a native code format so the answer to your question is Yes, it can generate native code. But you can also generate .Net code from c++ as well. This is called Managed C++. And of course you can write in .Net as well. You need to write code that the compiler understands. You can use any IDE or even Notepad to create source but the language you use must match the compiler.
Ah, unmanaged, thats what I meant. And it appears visual c++ 2010 can make unmanaged code, although people were saying it's impossiple since vs2008. But I'll stick with visual c then. THANKS
VS 2010 can compile unmanaged code yes but if you want to write device drivers you will need a different compiler yet again from the Windows Driver Development Kit. I know you didn't ask about that but I'd thought I'd tell you.
I'm not thinking about writing drivers yet. But does the driver compiler understand the c written in visual c?
It's the same language c++, for device drivers the structure is different, the functions that you call are different and the compiler generates code that has optimizations compatible with the Windows Kernel as it runs it the Kernel address space (mainly, User mode I know about but not going into now). I wouldn't worry about it for now just be aware that for device drivers you need a different compiler.
VS2010 FTW! And if you guys do wanna check out kernel mode (driver) development then check out Code: http://visualddk.sysprogs.org/