Good afternoon males, females, natural hermaphrodites, unnatural hermaphrodites, unsexed, androgens, androids, blackberries, geeks, nerds, intelligent trousers, wabbits, wabbit stews, fork bombs, monkey derivatives, etc, etc, etc...
This article will discuss the IDE known as Dev-C++, which seems to be in common usage. More specifically, I will be discussing why we try to steer people away from using Dev-C++, and what you can do if you are a Dev-C++ user. This article does not apply to wxDev-C++.
Why we've deprecated Dev-C++
It all boils down to one reason:
Dev-C++ hasn't been updated since 2005.
From there, there are 3 main problems with the lack of any updating.
The included MinGW is obsolete.
The many known bugs may never be fixed.
The IDE lacks the features of more modern IDEs.
I'll go over each of these in order.
The included MinGW is obsolete.
MinGW is an irregular acronym which stands for "
Minimalist
GNU for
Windows". It includes a various set of tools commonly found on many *nixes including the g++ compiler and gdb debugger, which Dev-C++ makes use of.
A problem with Dev-C++ not being updated in computer centuries is that the bundled MinGW is several years old, and as a result the compiler doesn't work nearly as well on new systems as a hot-out-of-the-oven dish of MinGW's g++ would. It's a whole major version behind...
The many known bugs may never be fixed.
Dev-C++ is no longer being cared for, if you will. The latest version (Dev-C++ 4.9.9.2) has currently 340 known bugs, and possibly more that are not accounted for. Also, due to the fact that the dev-packs system is no longer being updated, that feature itself has also become broken, with many packs being either obsolete or no longer existent.
The lead developer has stated in 2006 that due to personal issues he will not be working on Dev-C++.
The IDE lacks some of the features of more modern IDEs.
Dev-C++'s debugging utilities are... also old. A debugger is an essential utility for any programmer at any level, and I have heard complaints of the Dev-C++ debugging interface being confusing.
In addition, the code completion and intellisense-like features are lagging behind the times as well.
What you can do if you're using Dev-C++
Completely switch IDEs
This is the option I recommend, considering the formidable alternatives. I did not include options that I am certain are only for platforms other than Windows (XCode 4).
The list of good free IDEs includes but is not limited to:
1- Code::Blocks ->
http://www.codeblocks.org/downloads
2- Visual Studio C++ Express ->
http://www.microsoft.com/express/Downloads/#2010-Visual-CPP
3- Netbeans ->
http://netbeans.org/downloads/
4- Eclipse ->
http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/eclipse-ide-cc-developers/heliossr1
5- QT Creator ->
http://qt.nokia.com/downloads (scroll down a bit to download it as a standalone)
Eclipse has a little bit of a learning curve, just as a warning.
Make the change to wxDev-C++
This is the recommended option if you really like Dev-C++. wxDev-C++ is being updated, it's a bit more modern, it features a designer for wxWidgets should you want to create GUI applications, and finally as the name implies it is based on the original.
You can download wxDev-C++ here:
http://wxdsgn.sourceforge.net/?q=node/4
Go minimalist
This isn't an option I recommend too highly for some, however using a minimalist text editor + makefiles + a terminal is something I enjoy as a development option, and I'm sure there are others who would as well.
Possible lightweight editors include but are not limited to:
1- Programmer's Notepad ->
http://www.pnotepad.org/download/
2- Geany ->
http://www.geany.org/Download/Releases#windowsBinaries
3- Nano ->
http://www.nano-editor.org/download.php
4- Vim ->
http://www.vim.org/download.php
5- Emacs ->
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/#Obtaining
6- Notepad++ ->
http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download
Update Dev-C++
I recommend this option the least considering the problems you might run into with the IDE itself, however if you're highly reluctant to change to even wxDev-C++ then at least update the included MinGW.
I cannot give the specifics of how to do this, unfortunately, as I am incapable of even installing Dev-C++. However, you would probably end up doing a few searches for MinGW-related files, removing them, and the installing the new MinGW.
Be careful doing this, though, as having two versions of MinGW might trigger linker errors (undefined reference to __cpu_features_init).
In conclusion...
While Dev-C++ might be easy, that does not mean that you should stick with it. To quote Moschops from here:
http://cplusplus.com/forum/beginner/43898/#msg237572 Nailing my feet to the floor is easier than using my own muscles to balance, but you don't see me doing that :) |
-Albatross
EDIT1: Added some useful hyperlinks.
EDIT2: Fixed the bullet points.
EDIT3: Put the pluses back in the article. Also updated the wxDev-C++ download link.
EDIT4: Added QT Creator and Notepad++. Thank you
Danellos and
immutable!
EDIT5: I just *had* to include a quite by
Moschops at the end. :)