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Free Optimizing C++ Compiler from Microsoft
FortranDragon writes "Microsoft has made the command line toolkit for Visual C++ available for a free download. You can use the toolkit to build applications and redistribute them if you want (though you should read the EULA for the details, as always). This is a nice boon for those that have to deal with cross-platform compatibility, especially since Microsoft has tried to make Visual C++ more conformant to the ISO C++ standard. Go forth and compile your favorite OSS or FS programs today. ;-)"
The platform SDK which includes the command line compiler, linker and debugger has allways been a free download (hasn't it). Also, the .net SDK which includes all the languages, libraries, and compilers has also allways been a free download, this is what sharp develop uses.
There's a decent free IDE available called Dev-C++ for windows, it comes with mingw32 ofcourse.
MS provides the Debugging Tools for Windows as a free download. GUI and command line debuggers are included.
just to clarify this Apple's dev tools ARE included, just NOT installed by DEFAULT.
...and now that I'm thinking of it most OSes of recent years, free AND proprietary seem to come with some sort of gcc based plus IDE dev tools any more anyways, e.g. BeOS, *Linux, *BSD, OSX, MacOS 7.5-9.x etc. On top of this didn't M$ used to have pretty decent pricing(surprisingly) for VC++/dev studio only anyways? (It's been a while since I've bothered to check.)
EVERY new machine SHOULD come with a separate developer's CD just as every boxed version of OSX should. The end user just has to apply some elbow grease in a) noticing this, and b) bothering to install it.
Also in the unlikely event that the developer CD is not present or there is an upgrade it is ALWAYS available(even to free online developer members) as a download. Hell even the old classic dev toolset(name escapes me at the moment) has been available free since, what?, 1994/5 or so?
The only commercial environments are things like Codewarrior(Metrowerks), Absoft FORTRAN, RealBASIC, etc. Codewarrior MIGHT be worth it if you are trying to make money as their compilers are proprietary and USUALLY optimize much better than gcc. (I don't think that anyone has done a recent set of benchmarks of Apple's latest improvements of gcc v. current Metrowerks compiler though...)
The very first thing it does is try to configure .net on your machine.
Since my only Windows machine is 98, it couldn't complete the rest of the install.
Yes, it is a sacrificial test machine. I just wanted to see the EULA.
Try using the link /lib switch. It offers the exact same functionality as lib.exe.
1.1 General License Grant. Microsoft grants to you as an individual, a personal, nonexclusive license to make and use copies of the Software (i) for your internal use; (ii) for designing, developing, testing and demonstrating your software product(s); and (iii) for evaluation of the Software.
As in, for demonstration only. If you're going to distribute binaries, don't compile them with this tool.
Nope. That clause governs copying of the Software- in other words, the compiler. It says nothing about distribution of works you create using the Software.