compiler wars

As far as DJGPP is concerned it only produces 32-bits DOS code, ie. not Windows (this was the case a year ago at least). However it is possible to tweak it to produce Windows executables. DJGPP''s website should have all the information on that.

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"I think, therefore I am...I think"

Yhea! DJGPP kicks ass!
Im using it with Allegro... check it out!

btw. djggp''s website:

www.delorie.com/djgpp/

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Game projects:
www.fiend.cjb.net

DJGPP is a great project, I used it for quite a while, but if you truly want to do Windows programming, it probably makes more sense to use a true Windows compiler. In addition, it''s been my experience that DJGPP is usually a few versions behind the rest of the g++ ports, so you don''t always have the best support for language features and the latest bug fixes. I haven''t done any real Win32 development yet, I''m more of a console junkie, but in my fooling around, the Borland C++ 5 compiler seems excellent.

-Brian

DJGPP has a module available that will let you compile Windows programs. However, if you need a free compiler I would go with the Borland C++ Command Line Tools.

Of course I''m a compiler junkie so I would go and get both.

Speaking from experience and the fact that I have at least 3 compilers on my system. Here is my two cents:

I mainly use Visual C++ 6, I love it, I would use nothing else, if you want to code for windows, use this, it is vastly superior to everything I have ever used. ALthough I have never used Borland Builder.

I have used DJGPP and it gives me problems, and I have used allegro when I can get DJGPP to work, it is decent, but it is DOS, so that is why I moved on.

I recently downloaded Dev-C++ (FreeWare Windows Compiler), it seems ok, I haven''t used it much yet.

Overall, DJGPP and Allegro seems a good choice for simplicity, but when you''re ready to battle with the big boys, you gotta go DirectX and for that I''d recommend Visual C++ 6.

-T

Oh yeah, and as for the degugging. When working with DirectX full screen I have heard Multiple Monitors is perfect, however I haven''t been so fortunate to do that yet.

My solution was to create a Debug Text file that I output to, and to further that, I created a Debug Message Stack, and I render the Message Stack right onto my game screen!

So I can see what is happening at runtime. I also created a watches stack in which I pass varaible pointers and it displays the data for them. Pretty cool stuff.

-T

thanks man...pretty cool!

I have tried only CW (up to 5.3) and Borland C++ compiler (up to 5.0x). CW produces bigger executables but they run really faster.

I have MSVC++ 6.0, DJGPP w/ Allegro, used to have Dev-C++ (as mentioned before), and Borland C++ Builder. I like all of them, but the one I use most is MSVC++ 6. I didn''t like Dev-C++ because it was too simple. I prefer Lcc-Win32 over it simply because you can use OpenGL and other API''x with it. Borland C++ Builder is great but it is much more complicated that MSVC++ 6. You can download a 60 day trial version off of their web site. (www.borland.com) There is a gcc port of a DJGPP type compiler called Mingw32. I haven''t used it much so I can''t recomend it. The two compilers I would like to try are Codewarrior and Intel''s compiler. (not interested enough to pay $100 though)

About the debugging...

On my old computer, I used a monochrome monitor, and the debugging library Andre LaMothe shipped with Windows Game Programming for Dummies.. You can also download it off his site, at www.xgames3d.com. This was a pretty handy method, as it allowed for fast text output, and even variable watches while you are running your game.

But when I got a new computer, it didn''t have any ISA slots, so I couldn''t use my monochrome card anymore. So I got another VGA card and am now using multiple monitors. It''s great! The VC++ debugger works well with it, and I haven''t had any problems. There are two things you need to think about, though. First, make sure you get another card that is on the compatibility list (email me if you want me to send the list to you, I''m pretty sure I still have it) and also, if you want to use breakpoints while you are drawing to a surface, you must lock it with the DDLOCK_NOSYSLOCK flag, and you can''t step through when your primary surface is locked. All you must do to set it up is set up your DDraw object by passing the GUID of your second card (check out the DXSDK for info on getting the GUID). It''s nice, and it''s easy. Plus, it gives you more screen space in Windows, which is really nice!

Email me if you have any questions!


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Jonathan Little
invader@hushmail.com
http://www.crosswinds.net/~uselessknowledge