OT: Free C compiler

Comments

• Ian Hamilton

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  It depends on what system you're using. The best C compiler ever is GCC (GNU C Compiler). It's completely free as it's released through the GNU licencing system - check out www.gnu.org for more information. There are versions available for most OS's including Linux, Solaris, VMS, BSD and Windoze. You can also download Cygwin or DJGPP which are based on gcc.
  
  Necros.
  
• Arjun

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  Necros sums it up nicely. GCC is reportedly a good compiler and is free. A good IDE for GCC would be Bloodshed which is also free.
  

  Zero - A modern Spectrum emulator for Windows.
  Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
• GOC

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  If you want to develop Windows apps and you want to do it for free, you could try Dev-C++ - it uses GCC and has a very nice (albeit somewhat limited) editor.
  
  However, if you want to develop Windows apps EASILY, may I recommend Borland C++ Builder Personal Edition. It won't cost more than $100, and you'll get a highly proffesional and easy-to-use program. I find it hard to believe that a Capitalist-Imperialist like you can't afford that :)
  
  
  
• Philip Kendall

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  On 2004-11-28 05:24, Arjun wrote:
  GCC is reportedly a good compiler

  
  Define "good". It's standards compliance and portability are both excellent, but it will be hammered perfomance-wise by commercial offerings.
• CKay

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  Cheers guys :) I didn`t want to end up starting to use something completely useless, or that was widely known to be crap...
  
  I tried getting I think DJGPP last week, and on the home/development page couldn`t find a D/L link so had put it off for a week (a talent of mine)
  
  Someone else had mentioned Bloodshed on another forum, but it was a `kiddie` GBA forum so I wanted to ask you guys, since I know a quite a few of you are well versed in C.
  
  So I`ve got Bloodsheds Dev-C++ which seems very cool for what Im wanting, very happy :)
  
  I`ll move onto Borland C++ or something commercial once I get my head around the (to me) weird looking syntax of C
  /C++
  
  Once again, Thanks *_+
  
• Arjun

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  On 2004-11-28 14:19, Philip Kendall wrote:
  Define "good". It's standards compliance and portability are both excellent, but it will be hammered perfomance-wise by commercial offerings.

  
  But of course. You can't have everything.
  

  Zero - A modern Spectrum emulator for Windows.
  Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
• b00mzi11a

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  On 2004-11-28 19:04, Arjun wrote:

  On 2004-11-28 14:19, Philip Kendall wrote:
  Define "good". It's standards compliance and portability are both excellent, but it will be hammered perfomance-wise by commercial offerings.

  
  But of course. You can't have everything.
  

  
  The command-line version of the Microsoft C++ compiler is completely free, and if you're only building for 32-bit Windows then it will be a shedload faster than GCC. It's the same one you pay a shedload for when integrated into Visual Studio.
  
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/downloads/list/netdevframework.asp
  
  
  
  
  _________________
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  [ This Message was edited by: b00mzi11a on 2004-11-29 00:14 ]
• Steve(spt)

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  Just for the hell of it Borland do free compiler for C++ its a commad line version 5.5
  
  
  http://www.borland.com/products/downloads/download_cbuilder.html
  
  Steve(spt)
• CKay

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  I reckon I`ll need the development environment, Im that used to Basic, and being able to change, run, change run etc etc :)
  
  If these commercial versions (albeit command line) would compile faster code, would it be possible to develop within Bloodshed, and then once something is fully written to compile it with the command line versions of either Microsoft or Borland?
  
  I know C is supposed to be a standard, but is it really, or do these different packages have abilities that others don`t?
  
  Sorry for all the questions.... school the noob :)
  
  Calvin
  
• Philip Kendall

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  On 2004-11-29 00:57, CKay wrote:
  If these commercial versions (albeit command line) would compile faster code,

  
  For the sort of stuff it sounds like you'll be doing, you don't care about the differences in performance between compilers.
  

  I know C is supposed to be a standard, but is it really,

  
  C is a standard (or more specifically, more than one standard). The trouble is that most "C programmers" don't have a clue what the standard says or how to write portable code in general.
• CKay

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  
  Cheers :)
  
  I suppose the difference in speed isn`t soo important nowadays as well, with everyone having different spec machines anyway... unless you do something demanding and want to make sure it`ll run on a low spec machine.
  
  
• Arjun

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  On 2004-11-29 01:07, Philip Kendall wrote:
  
  C is a standard (or more specifically, more than one standard). The trouble is that most "C programmers" don't have a clue what the standard says or how to write portable code in general.

  
  Compilers are to blame for that to some extent. Programmers tend to bind to the idiosyncracies of a compiler (read non-standardness) and forget that it may not be ANSIC compliant (remember VC6 variable scope confusion?) code that they may be writing.
  

  Zero - A modern Spectrum emulator for Windows.
  Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
• robert@fm

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  One compiler which may be worth looking at (if you're running DOS/Windows) is Pacific C, as I mentinoed on another forum here. :)
  

  I never make misteaks mistrakes misyales errurs — oh, sod it.
• J?rg Pleumann

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  If you have a halfway up to date machine, Eclipse + C plugin + GCC might be a combination worth looking at. I am using Eclipse for Java stuff, and it's the most decent IDE I've encountered so far.
  
  Ah, yes, Eclipse is free (beer and speech). See: http://www.eclipse.org
  
  [ This Message was edited by: J?rg Pleumann on 2004-11-29 19:04 ]
• mel the bell

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  MY GOD this threads waaaay to head doing
  
  *runs out with pants round ankles and smoke coming out of ears*
  

  Professional Mel-the-Bell Simulator................"So realistic, I found myself reaching for the Kleenex King-Size!" - Richard Darling
• Gore_Lord

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  :o eclipse looks good. There's even a z80 plugin.
  
  http://www.eclipse-plugins.info/eclipse/plugins.jsp?category=Languages&pager.offset=40&firstItem=41
  
  [ This Message was edited by: Gore_Lord on 2004-11-29 19:50 ]
• CKay

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  Will check those out, Im probably better off donloading a few and messing about in them all to find whatever Im most confortable with :)
  
  Cheers guys *_+
  
  
  
• Fraser

  November 2004 edited November 2004

  Digital Mars is free for command prompt development. A CD has to be purchased for Windows development. I've only recently looked at this one.
• robert@fm

  December 2004 edited December 2004

  DJGPP has been mentioned in this thread before, but not the main site for it: www.delorie.com .
  
  One thing I've found, having installed my DJGPP package today:? It's not necessary (as the instructions say it is) to feed the ZIPfiles to UNZIP32 one-by-one, if you're doing it by the recommended method of copying the ZIPs and UNZIP32.EXE to your DJGPP directory you can do it with just one command:
  
  for %a in (*.zip) do unzip32 %a
  
  That's how I did it, and it works a treat! :)
  

  I never make misteaks mistrakes misyales errurs — oh, sod it.