Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Best "Visual Studio" Alternative On Linux

Posted by timothy on from the sidestepping-the-inevitable-embrace dept.

Microsoft ISV writes: "We are beginning the next major release of our product, and we have been a Microsoft ISV for many years. In a few months Microsoft will be entering our market, and we wish to hedge our bets by supporting Linux in this next new major release. Can you ask your readership what is the best 'Visual Studio' like IDE for Linux? Especially for an ISV who will be maintaining the same product on both Windows and Linux?" Or is there even such a thing?

1 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. Go with Delphi/Kylix by mikera · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you haven't tried them already, I would seriously check out the Delphi/Kylix combination. The IDE and the Visual Development tools in particular are IMO a class apart from Visual Studio, and certainly far superior to any of the free tools available. Not to knock the others, but Borland know how to make development tools like nobody else.

    Also the fact that you get sub-second compiles for large projects is rather sweet :-)

    Code that you produce with the Borland CLX toolkit should be portable across Linux and Windows. Also, the forthcoming iterations of C++ Builder (essentially Delphi for C++) will be Delphi/Kylix compatible as well. For obvious reasons, Borland have always stayed very Microsoft-compatible and support for things like COM objects, creating DLLs and linking with C/C++ etc. is very good.

    The fact that Delphi/Kylix use Object Pascal is frequently raised as an objection which I appreciate may be a concern. However, Object Pascal is a very powerful Pascal derivative that is easy to learn and any competent coder should have no trouble making the transition. I find that I code better in Object Pascal if only because the compiler is much more smart at picking up dubious code.

    Even if you don't eventually use Kylix, I would strongly suggest downloading the free Open Edition just to give it a test drive. It's quite an experience that may change your views on how development ought to be done.....