Good idea for C/C++

[daik]

Hello all,
I've decided to touch up on my C/C++ skills, so I would like some advice on a good ide. I have used K-develop in the past, but since I am currently running Gnome (under Mandriva 2008.1), it seems a bit silly to use it, but if it is the best one around I will. So any suggestions on a good ide, for C/C++ development? (I do intend to build Gnome applications in the near future, and I do not like Eclipse very much). Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.

[safernetworks]

Try MingW as they have a whole set of addons so that you can develop in C/CPP for Linux, then at a later stage directly compile for Mac and Win platforms as well.

[i92guboj]

Hello all,
I've decided to touch up on my C/C++ skills, so I would like some advice on a good ide. I have used K-develop in the past, but since I am currently running Gnome (under Mandriva 2008.1), it seems a bit silly to use it, but if it is the best one around I will.

Well, it's just my opinion, but for me, what wouldn't make sense is not to use it. An IDE is not something that you can learn to use on a couple of days. So, if you know how to use kdevelop and are proficient with it, why not use it? The fact that you have to install kdelibs and a couple of minor kde things shouldn't be a big problem. Of course it all depends on how your distro packages the different parts of kde.

There's absolutely no problem in mixing gtk and qt apps, and command lines ones when needed. I can't understand that purist mentality of "only qt" or "only gtk" applications. That way you limit your scope way too much since you can only use a half of the available applications. With all due respect of course, to each his/her own, I just expose my point of view

So any suggestions on a good ide, for C/C++ development? (I do intend to build Gnome applications in the near future, and I do not like Eclipse very much). Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Some people prefer eclipse because it's java (and so it can be used on virtually any platform). I dislike it for the same reason (portability is good, but java is not my cup of tea).

There's also anjuta and code::blocks. Also look at this:

Comparison of integrated development environments - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[safernetworks]

In my understanding, to comment on the last poster, once you got one IDE down, its pretty much straight forward in ANSI environments.

The exception is always Mac of course but thats not an issue here, since he shouldnt have to lear Xcode (which I'll never use again) No source control whatsoever.

For the part of development, one thing I'd like to throw in just for consideration, it also depends on what he intends to develop.

I stear clear of Java and the MS .NET because of GC issues.

Since 1980's GC has been banned from Security and Time critical development. as such I never could get my head around why they suddenly don't tell people this in releasing .NET and Java, that they are actually considered unsafe in certain development environments. But then again I cant even get ahold of a party at the ISO committy to comment on this fact.

Thanks for the comparison list / wiki link.

Also, if its just a matter of brushing up on your skills in C/C++, I doubt a minor jump from one ANSI compliant IDE to another would be an issue. I am certain once the right tools are selected, proficiency is a breeze since I assume the original poster has basic C/C++ experience already.

Edit:
I forgot to say, Why should anyone lock themseleves to develop for only one environmet or item?
I mean, lets face the facts that 10% use Linux 5% Mac and the rest are on windows.
Would it not be better to write stuff that everyone can use?

[daik]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I will especially look at that wiki link, as it seems to give a pretty good comparison between different ides. At the end of the day all I want is tool that allows me to compile and debug, as well as a bit of coding help, like syntax highlighting and possibly code-insight if applicable. What ides are you people actually using?

[Cabhan]

I think some people here are confusing IDEs with libraries / compilers. For instance, KDevelop and Anjuta are both IDEs, but they use the same C/++ compiler (gcc). An IDE cannot be standards-compliant: it is simply a convenient way to combine text-editing, compilation, execution, debugging, etc.

You should choose an IDE that you like. If you're familiar with KDevelop, it might be worth it, though I would suggest checking out others just to get a good comparison.

For C and C++, I have always been using pure Vim. Vim and Emacs are both text editors that are absolutely amazingly full of features for programmers, including syntax highlighting, auto-indentation, ctags, and all sorts of crazy other things that I can't possibly describe here. They both also have support for gcc and make, to automatically show you where errors occurred.

If you would honestly prefer a graphical IDE, KDevelop, Anjuta, and Code::Blocks seem to be the major ones that I hear of. If you're planning on building GUIs, there are also Glade (Gtk) and QTDesigner (Qt) that allow you to visually construct your GUI and auto-generate the code.

[i92guboj]

I think some people here are confusing IDEs with libraries / compilers. For instance, KDevelop and Anjuta are both IDEs, but they use the same C/++ compiler (gcc). An IDE cannot be standards-compliant: it is simply a convenient way to combine text-editing, compilation, execution, debugging, etc.

Obviously

An IDE is not ANSI compliant (though some people like to say so). It's the compiler itself which complies with ANSI C or not. The IDE is just a window which presents us with a graphical way to access all the compiler features, and with a bunch of editing features meant to ease the process of coding.

There's nothing ANSI related on an IDE. (Well, maybe in windows, where the compiler might be embedded into the same IDE, I don't really know).

ANSI C - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In this regard, most IDE's are the same, since all of them will use gcc as the default compiler, and hence, the degree of ANSI C compatibility will be exactly the same.

You should choose an IDE that you like. If you're familiar with KDevelop, it might be worth it, though I would suggest checking out others just to get a good comparison.

Fair advise.

In my understanding, to comment on the last poster, once you got one IDE down, its pretty much straight forward in ANSI environments.

Not really. Graphical IDE's are full of useless options which makes it very hard to natigate them (maybe that's why I don't use any at all). It's not a titanic task, but still it can take some time to be proficient with a new IDE. I find advanced editors to be more adequate for programming purposes.

However, as Cabhan said, there's no harm in trying new IDE's. But my whole point is that there's no harm either in continuing using the IDE you already know and are proficient with just because the name of the underlying toolkit doesn't fit your taste.

I forgot to say, Why should anyone lock themseleves to develop for only one environmet or item?
I mean, lets face the facts that 10% use Linux 5% Mac and the rest are on windows.
Would it not be better to write stuff that everyone can use?

The IDE has absolutely nothing to do with the portability of the code. The way you code and the libraries you use DO. If you don't know how to write portable code, having an IDE is not going to help you. And also, you might be interested in the fact that kdevelop is tightly integrated with qt4, which works open sourced on the three OSes you mentioned. So I can't understand your point.

Just like in any other regard, it's a question of tastes really.

[daik]

Thank you again everyone. I am well aware of what an IDE is and isn't (being a programmer by trade, but not in C/C++). I knew this was a matter of taste and thus would get conflicting advice but either way I was (and still am) interested to see what the major IDEs are. I have both Gnome and KDE installed (at the end of the day, the size difference is not that big comapred to having one or both), but I find that running KDE programs under Gnome sometimes fail because of problems with DCOP. But if K-develop is the best tool out, I'll use it. But it seems both code:blocks and Anjuta are quite good too. I have used Anjuta a long time ago, and I now notice there are two versions, the 1.X branch and the 2.X branch. Is the 2 branch stable and close to feature complete? Again thank you everyone for your thoughts.

[daik]

So I tried out Code:blocks, Anjuta 2 and KDevelop and here is my results

Anjuta 2
Installed via packagemanager (urpmi, since I'm running Mandriva 2008.1).
Starts up fine, but after I've created a project I can not compile the code. Or change project settings. When I started from a command line and then open a project it says "no backend for project type". So not usable

Code:blocks
Again installed via urpmi. Started fine the first time, and I could write code. Could not compile code, the compiler did not run at all. If I exported the makefile and jsut typed make in a console, it compiled just fine. Second attempt to start it today resulted in a crash. Now I can not start it at all. So not usable.

KDevelop
Works fine, can compile and debug code. Problem is that it is a KDE application, which means that dialogues and file browsers etc look different from my normal Gnome. Not a big problem but a bit annoying.

If any user of the above "failed" IDE's feel like they know how to fix the problem feel free to reply to this thread with either questions or ideas.