In Search of: C++ IDE

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    • In Search of: C++ IDE

      Most of my professional software development has been in Java. I work for a company that authors a piece of web-based software with a Java back-end, so the performance loss with Java isn't really much of an issue. Through my professional development with Java, I have come across many tools that make developing in the language easier. I'm quite the fan of ANT, which is basically Java's answer for a makefile. I also use IntelliJ IDEA, which is a very robust Java IDE. It includes many things that I have come to love in an IDE, including:
      • Code Completion
      • Syntax Checking
      • Code Analysis - checks code for things as mundane as an if statement that always returns true or as complex as a method that should really be moved to another class
      • Class Navigation - I can shift-click on a varable/method use to get its definition. I can also shift-click on a class name to load that class file.

      It's got loads of other stuff that has essentially made my life easier when developing in Java. If it wasn't for the performance hit I'd take, I'd just stick with Java when delving into the work of Video Game design, since I'm much more comfortable with that language and the tools available with regards to it. However, if I decide to get serious about coding a game, it would seem that the language of choice is C++.

      I have experience with C and C++, but mostly in an academic setting, where notepad++ and nano were my text editors of choice, and where I didn't need to debug something over 250 lines of code. Game Coding: Complete makes mention of Visual Studio throughout the book. I don't know a lot about Visual Studio, so I guess my first question would be with regards to what advantages people have found in using it over another IDE.

      Ideally, I'd find a C++ IDE that was essentially IntellJ IDEA born again for C++, but I'm not convinced I will get that lucky. Research on The Internets has pointed me in a few different directions, but most notably in the direction of Eclipse. Eclipse is an open-source IDE for Java with a C plugin that appears to have some of what I'm looking for, but not all of it. If anyone has significant experience with Eclipse, I'd also appreciate information on why you might prefer it to other IDEs.

      Also, any other IDE suggestions would be very welcome, especially from those with experience with IntelliJ IDEA. I've become a bit of a fanboy with regards to that IDE (in case that wasn't apparent ;) ), and the closer I can get to a tool like IDEA, the happier I will be.

    • RE: In Search of: C++ IDE

      Microsoft Visual Studio is the standard in the industry. Of the three game companies I've worked at and the many people I know from other companies, not one of them uses a different IDE.

      Personally & professionally, I use Visual Studio 2005. It's the best IDE I've used (though early versions were a bit buggy). It's pretty slick. You can hover over variables/functions and get their signature in a little tooltip. You can right-click and hit "Go To Declaration" to see the declaration, or "Go To Definition" to see the implementation. Sometimes it gets confused if there are multiple layers of abstraction though. The debugger is extremely good. You can set data breakpoints (which have saved my ass), look at values by hovering over the variable in code, easily dig into STL data structures, etc. I could go into much more detail, but I would suggest downloading it and trying it out. It's biggest pain-point is the price for the real version.

      I've used a few other IDE's like Bloodshed and Borland Builder. Back in the day I used Turbo C++ 3.0. Still, nothing holds a candle to visual studio in my opinion.

      On a side note, why is it that no text editor besides gVim gets searching right?? I want to type a search string (or a regular expression) and have it highlight every occurance in the file. Is that so much to ask?

      Anyway, hope that helps. And welcome to the boards. :)

      -Rez

    • Visual Studio is the way to go if you're developing on Windows and you're doing C/C++. There really is no better development environment out there, especially with additions such as Visual Assist X.

      However, just as a note, if you're coming from a Java background, you might C# quite a bit easier to get used to. Structure and syntax are a lot more similar, and it has a lot of the nicer features of Java, with a lot less of a performance hit. Just a suggestion.

      Either way, if you're not looking on dropping a lot of cash (which Visual Studio does cost a lot of cash) you can check out Visual C++ Express, I believe. Should be on the MSDN. Not sure what features it includes and doesn't include, but as far as I understand everything's there. It just doesn't have integration with other MS-supported languages. Visual C# Express is also up there if you want to take a look at it.
      Feel you safe and secure in the protection of your pants . . . but one day, one day there shall be a No Pants Day and that shall be the harbinger of your undoing . . .

    • Cool. I appreciate the info thus far. I gave a quick look at SlickEdit as well as the Visual Studio, which looks like it does a lot of what I wanted in the Express incarnation. If nothing else, I'll probably snag a copy of Visual C++ Express and load up Teapot Wars in it just to explore the GUI.

      I also spent about 30 minutes looking at the higher-level differences between C++ and C#, and I do like what I read thus far. I'll probably buy a C# book (or borrow one from the library) to drill in further.

    • RE: In Search of: C++ IDE

      As Rez said, Visual Studio is the de facto standard for C++ in the realm of Windows. If your looking for something else, you can try Code::Blocks with whatever compiler thats happens to suit you. Eclipse with Callisto is another alternative, it's an unwieldly beast for the inexperienced, but it has support for a wide range of languages and add-ons.

      I use Visual Studio 2005 for most of my C++ work, but your free to choose whatever you like.

      If your still in school, see if your school has access to MSDNAA, and you can get free copies of most Microsoft software.

    • RE: In Search of: C++ IDE

      Onyx, how serious are you about game programming? Are you looking to get into it professionally, or are you just messing around?

      If you're looking at doing it professionally, C++ is the only way to go (currently). If it's just for fun, well, it won't really matter as long as it runs fast enough. ;)

      -Rez

    • Well, right now, I'm just throwing around a few idea with some people, but we had one that we got excited about. I'm not entirely convinced we will be able to pull it off, but I wanted to learn more about the field anyway. My trade is in software development, and video game design was always one of those ideal (but not pragmatic) career options.

      I've started thinking it might not be as out of the realm of possibility as I thought. So, I've been doing some heavy reading and research.