I have created a c++ game with the following libraries : SDL2 and SDL2_MIXER. I want to give the game to some friends who have no programming experience to play with. Now I don't really know how to do that.
What I have tried is to use installshield limited edition with visual studio. After giving the installation program to some friends they all had a common problem-error that a dll MVCsomething was missing.
What is the simplest way to give my friends the app? Since c++ is translated to assembly do I have to compile the source again each time I change a machine?
Given the way that you've tagged your question, it is unclear if you are using Visual Studio or CodeBlocks to compile the code.
I guessing that you're compiling it in Visual Studio, and therefore they're getting an error that they don't have the appropriate MSVCRT DLLs—in other words, the C runtime library that your code depends upon, having been compiled with Microsoft's compiler. Point them to download the version of the Visual C++ Redistributable matching the version of Visual Studio that you're using on your development computer. For example, if you have VS 2015, they'll need to install Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015.
Alternatively, you can bundle the required redistributable into your installer to make sure that it gets installed automatically, if it isn't already. In InstallShield, I believe that's done by marking the VC++ Redistributable as a "requirement". Make sure that it's set as a prerequisite. Although, judging from the answer to this question, it may be that InstallShield LE doesn't support this. If that's the case, my advice would be to ditch InstallShield altogether and use something like Inno Setup to build an installer. There is a moderate learning curve, but it is useful knowledge. That being said, I can't believe Microsoft would ship a mechanism for creating a setup program with Visual Studio that didn't support automated installation of the CRT. I have not kept up with what Visual Studio supports nowadays with respect to setup wizards.
Since c++ is translated to assembly do I have to compile the source again each time I change a machine?
No, no. Assuming that your friends are all running Windows (and not, say, Linux) and have x86-based machines (which they do if they're running Windows), your code will work fine. The only hitch would be if you are compiling 64-bit code that runs on your machine, but they only have 32-bit machines. Then you'll need to have a 32-bit and 64-bit version. (Or a single 32-bit version, which will run on both.)
http://cws.cengage.co.uk/rautenbach/students/ancillary_content/C++.pdf
I tried with different compilers but I received many errors
Quote from the book:
The examples provided in this book are 100% cross platform and will compile on any ANSI compiler. All the C++ examples were tested on Linux and Windows XP/Vista via the MinGW compiler and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005.
Note that they recommend a 10 year old compiler, this from a book teaching cutting edge technology -- GPU programming. Consider throwing it out.
For what I see you need Visual C++ from Visual Studio 2008 or higher and the DirectX SDK.
This maybe a beginner question but could not find proper answer on the internet.
I am curious can I use some other compiler (which I like) in Visual Studio 10?
As of Visual Studio 2010, it is conceptually possible to integrate another compiler. In the book ‘Inside the Microsoft Build Engine, Using MSBuild and Team Foundation Buid’ 2nd edition, on page 338, the chapter ‘Adding a New Platform and Platform Toolset’ the process of adding gcc to visual studio is explained.
However, while it is possible, it has always remained as a concept. To my awareness, nobody has actually been up to the task and publicly disclosed the results. But even with this support, you'd still be lacking debugging facilities. Which would require your compiler of choice to generate .pdb files and/or extend visual studio with a new local debugger
In summary it's quite a venture
You can use other compiler Intel c++ in VS. I don't think any other compiler supports VS.The main reason behind it is lack of plug-ins in VS. But you can use cmake scripts to compile your code in different compilers. With eclipse you can use most of the compilers (VS,gcc). Code blocks also allows you to choose the compilers.
Yes,you can use Intel C++,and even MATLAB 7.1 or later for sure..here is a reference to use MATLABIt gives a step by step procedure to use MATLAB with VS
You can also write Java programs and include javac compiler for it...you can refer this if needed..Including javac with VS
I kno this is surely possible from VS 2010 but not sure for the b4 editions..hope it helps..
Any Alternative extensions for Visual Studio C++ 2010 express like Visual Assist X ?
I am personally not aware of any. I don't think VS2010 Express supports VAX to begin with.
Since you only mention C++ - if you want a decent FREE IDE with good "intellisense", auto-complete, refactoring, snippets and code generation (the hallmarks of VAX) - I recommend Qt Creator. It is originally intended for using with the Qt framework, but can be used standalone with any compiler you want. It is smaller and faster than VS, plus it is portable and has the advantage of being a fully fledged product, where VS Express is a cut down version.
Last time I checked, Eclipse was also doing well in this regard, but it is a little clumsy and heavy, probably because it is written in Java.
I searched around for the answers to these questions, but I have had little luck. So, I thought I would post them here to get some clarification. If this is a duplicate, please let me know, and I will close this.
Okay, with that said, I would like to begin learning C++. I come from a C# background and I have a great respect for Visual Studio and what it can do. Now, my question is. How well does Visual Studio's compiler work for C++ as opposed to a non-Microsoft version (such as MinGW)?
My thing is this. I have nothing wrong with Microsoft, but I would really like to learn C++ in a "pure" form and not scewed by any particular implementation. How reliant is Visual C++ on the .NET Framework? Can a "pure" C++ application be created through Visual Studio without any .NET usage or overhead? Does the Visual Studio compiler compile C++ into CIL like it does with C#/VB, or does it compile it all the way down as others do?
Thanks for any help anyone can provide!
The Visual C++ compiler will compile C++ code into standalone EXEs that have nothing to do with the .NET framework.
The only way to get the .NET baggage thrown in is to compile the C++ as "managed".
If you create a new project (File|New|New Project) Then choose "Win32" from the Visual C++ submenu in the project types and choose "Win32 Console Application" Visual studio will create a simple project with a couple of source files that will compile to a little executable.
Most of the time, Visual C++ is very similar to other compilers. Avoid #pragmas, microsoft libraries (MFC, ATL) and you should be fine.
Edit (thanks Cheeso) - Documentation of where Visual C++ diverges from standard.
In general I would advise using boost libraries for threads and networking because they work on many platforms (i.e linux). Also if your code can compile in GCC and Visual Studio then you are doing a good job keeping it portable.
The most recent versions of VC++ have become significantly more compliant to the C++ standard, so it's not really an issue to write "pure" C++ using Visual Studio, presuming that you stay out of the Windows API, COM+ and ATL. In fact, the documentation with Visual Studio is very rich, with details on the standard libraries and the STL, so it can help you learn a great deal. It can't teach you everything, but it's certainly loaded up with a wealth of information that is portable to any compiler and it is very easily accessbible inside the IDE.
If you create a new solution you should choose new Win32 Project, or Win32 Console Application, and check the 'Empty Project' option. Then you can add a main.cpp file, and add your standard C++ code.
If you like Visual Studio, go ahead and use it to learn C++ -- I haven't used the very latest version, but even the previous one was pretty standards-compliant, C++-wise, and I assume the latest one can only have gotten better. You can have many different kinds of project in Visual Studio, including "console apps", which are the "plain vanilla" kind you could make on any platform, and also many other kinds, such as, windows apps using the good old win32 api, ones made with MFC or other frameworks older than .NET, .NET ones using "managed code", etc.
Just make sure you always work in a "console app" project, and you'll be operating pretty closely to how you would be on other platforms and/or with other C++ IDEs.
If you limit yourself to writing ANSI C++ compliant code then what you write in VS will work in other compilers, until you have to interact with a graphic interface or IO. Then you need to make certain that you are using something that is portable, such as OpenGL, and not DirectX.
To set your project the steps here may be useful:
http://bytes.com/topic/net/answers/447572-strict-ansi-c
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 comes with a very good, C++98 standard compliant pure C++ compiler. If you are interested in pure C++, don't forget to disable language extensions in project settings and you are good to go. Nobody is going to force you to use .NET framework, MFC or anyting like that. Just pure core C++ language and C++ standard library.
Of course, just like any other compiler, it has known non-compliance issues, but in general it is, again, surprisingly good. Older versions of their compiler (MS VS 6.0 specifically) suffered from many non-compliance problems and could not even compile its own header files with language extensions disabled. In 2005 version they fixed a lot of these issues.
After creating a standard Win32 project, you can turn up the compliance a bit more. On the project properties sheet, there's a C/C++ category, with a Language entry. This lists a number of cases where VC++ can differ from the standard. Here, you'd want to turn OFF language extensions, and turn ON "wchar_t as built-in type", "for-loop conformance" and "RTTI support".