what is the best compiler for c++?

Question

I have just started to learn to program in c++. There are so many compiler and I don't know which one is good for newbie like me. Thanks for any suggestions.

Answer 1

There are really only two compilers you need to look at: GCC for OS X, BSD, and Linux, and Microsoft's Visual C++ compiler for Windows. If you're talking about development environments, you don't really need those at all...you can get away with any plaintext editor like Notepad (Notepad++ if you want syntax highlighting), Emacs (for Linux), nano (for any *nix operating system), or whatever the default text editor for OS X is (I think it's TextEdit); if you wanted to use an IDE, Microsoft Visual C++ Express is what you really want for Windows, and then you can use Eclipse on any major operating system since there is a C/C++ plug-in available.

Answer 2

Do you actually mean compiler or do you mean the Integrated Development Environment? They're two different things. It also depends on what you plan on doing.



If you are looking for the best compiler, the winner by far is Intel's compiler. Their profiling tools are also top-notch. http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-compilers/



If you're only working on Windows, Visual Studio and its MSVC compiler is another excellent choice.



If you want to write a single program that works on Windows, Mac, and Linux, you really only have two options for compilers: The Gnu C Compiler (GCC) and Clang, which runs on the Low Level Virtual Machine (LLVM). GCC is faster for now, but Clang is quickly catching up and Apple is investing pretty heavily in it. Eclipse is a pretty good cross-platform IDE that can use either of them, although it was really made for Java so it's not the best at C++ development. If you're using GCC, look into Code::Blocks. And if you're on a Mac, Apple's XCode has pretty good LLVM support.

Answer 3

Microsoft Visual C++

Borland C++

Bloodshed Dev-C++



Try these three. It's more of a personal preference as to what you might be comfortable with.



MS VC++ probably offers the great documentation with ability for those pop up menus.. I think Microsoft has implemented this into their program, so that would certainly help you. The others you do have to type the raw code.

Answer 4

For osx use Xcode, and for windows use bloodshed dev c++ or ms visual c++

The ms one is similar to a visual basic environment

Answer 5

I personally used GCC when I was learning. Check it out:



http://gcc.gnu.org/