programming in c++

[Psyfish]

I'm interested in making games in c++. Does know what program I would use?

[sand858]

I recommend Microsoft's Visual Studio software and if you can afford it, get the Visual Assist plugin from Whole Tomato. Together they form the most intuitive programming IDE I've ever used.

[Kakihara]

get hold of devs bloodshed software, its good to start with.

[blakfeld]

the bloodshed softwares great, but do what I did, I got the whole Microsofts .net dev suite for 80 bucks, cuz I found the academic version Also, if your starting off in C++ and looking for a quick start, especially if you want to get going quickly and maybe even produce something like you could in flash, I recomend starting off for a bit in Java (I know Im glad I did) in which case I recommend the excellent and free IDE JCreator, which you can get from download.com, altho you need to get the JDK from sun.com (which is a pain to navigate)

[MD004]

Originally posted by blakfeld
altho you need to get the JDK from sun.com (which is a pain to navigate)

Is this it: JDK 5.0 Update 1 - The J2SE Development Kit (JDK) supports creating J2SE applications - from this page?

[blakfeld]

yup

I forgot to mention, if you want java, make DAMN sure you get 5.0, as it has javax.swing (a gaphical class) which is a godsend in its own special way

and heres JCreator
http://www.download.com/JCreator/300...ml?tag=lst-0-1

[random10122]

I recommend checking out the 'Allegro' libraries if you use a program like bloodshed, especially if programming 2D games...

[dogtown08]

Go and buy a mac. You get their development software 100% free.

[blakfeld]

true, but the mac is a running compatablity issue.

[LeechmasterB]

Originally posted by blakfeld
I recomend starting off for a bit in Java (I know Im glad I did) in which case I recommend the excellent and free IDE JCreator...

Haha good old jcreator . I totally agree about starting out on java first, to get used to oop and real programming.

[ant512]

You might also want to get hold of the C programmer's bible:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...&link_code=as1

This will teach you to use all of the powerful features that C and C++ have, that Java doesn't, such as pointers. You'll probably want to get a C++ specific book too.

[webgeek]

If you are going to do Java, I recomend Netbeans 4.0 or the latest version of Eclipse. These are the two editors that the majority of real-world java developers use. On top of that, they will grow with you from the basics all the way to expert. JCreator is pretty nice, but not nearly as capable an IDE as the others (which are also free).

As for java, just go here:
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/download.jsp
The bundle at the top contains both the JDK and Netbeans.

As for C++, I side with Sand on this one. Visual Studio is unbeatable. It's also the professional tool of choice for C++.

The Visual Studio.NET version would work fine too (and is the one I own). The academic version has everything you need and then some. It also comes with a great deal of lesson samples you can play with. Once you have Visual Studio installed and running, you need to install the DirectX SDK from microsoft. You can get it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

If you are going to do 3D stuff with DirectX, you will want to snag the Extras bundle too as it contains some exporters and utilities that are useful.

Have fun!

[MD004]

Originally posted by webgeek
If you are going to do Java, I recomend Netbeans 4.0 or the latest version of Eclipse. ...Visual Studio is unbeatable. It's also the professional tool of choice for C++....Once you have Visual Studio installed and running, you need to install the DirectX SDK from microsoft...If you are going to do 3D stuff with DirectX, you will want to snag the Extras bundle too.

Thanks for all the info...not that i was the one who originally asked but oh well, im interested too.....

[Ed Mack]

You should check out openGL too, it's a very nicely written API.

[lapo73]

...and in case you're interested in creating games for multiple platforms you should also check the SDL library >> http://www.libsdl.org/index.php

good luck

Lapo

[ant512]

Originally posted by webgeek
If you are going to do Java, I recomend Netbeans 4.0 or the latest version of Eclipse.

I prefer JCreator - most Java IDEs, including the ones you mention, are written in Java. They're just too slow for me.

Give me native code every time (which is an odd attitude for a Java programmer, I know).

[lapo73]

Originally posted by ant512
I prefer JCreator - most Java IDEs, including the ones you mention, are written in Java. They're just too slow for me.

Give me native code every time (which is an odd attitude for a Java programmer, I know).

Have you ever tried Eclipse? It's written in Java but it's very hard to tell... the GUI is as responsive as all the other native applications!

Lapo

[webgeek]

I'm with Lapo, the newest version of both Netbeans and Eclipse don't feel any slower then Visual Studio. If you are running a little older machine or don't have enough ram, you might feel some slowdown though. Even if they were much slower, the functionality (particularly Netbeans 4's superior ANT-based projects) makes them an obvious choice for me.

[Psyfish]

thx for all of the help. I have got JCreator right now and will start with that. Does anyone know any good Java tutorials to get me started with?

[ant512]

Originally posted by webgeek
I'm with Lapo, the newest version of both Netbeans and Eclipse don't feel any slower then Visual Studio.

Visual Studio being, of course, the slowest IDE I've ever used. It's like trying to program in treacle.