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What is the best C++ IDE or editor for using on Windows? I use Notepad++, but am missing IntelliSense from Visual Studio.
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44 Answers
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I've found the latest release of NetBeans, which includes C/C++ support, to be excellent.
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Um, that's because Visual Studio is the best IDE. Come back to the darkside.
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I personally like Visual Studio combined with a third party add-in such as Visual Assist (http://www.wholetomato.com/). I've tried a few of the others and always ended up back with Visual Studio. Plus, Visual Studio is a widely used product in development industries, so having experience using it can only be a plus.
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The Eclipse CDT works well for me. It supports MinGW and Cygwin as targets. It also integrates well with CVS and Subversion.
The latest build, Ganymede, is available here.
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There are the free 'Express' versions of Visual Studio. Given that you like Visual Studio and that the 'Express' editions are free, there is no reason to use any other editor.
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I vote for Visual Studio, but it seems that C++ is treated like second class citizen (not the compiler and stuff but IDE support) compared to .NET languages like C#, but hopefully MS will do something about it by the next version of Visual Studio (new standard is coming and they promised that 10 should be new 6).
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VIsual studio is by far the best IDE but you can also take a look at Code::Blocks
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I prefer to use Microsoft Visual C++ express on windows. Though the 2008 ide is fine, the 2005 express has better support for many of the open projects which you might want to participate in. It's a pain to compile Firefox or a half life 2 mod on 2008. Also as a general tip when looking for software, I like to search wikipedia for 'comparison of ' In this case you would search comparison of Integrated Development Environments.
Hope that was helpful. M2ts editor for mac.
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If you are interested in doing Qt development, then Qt Creator works fine and is free.
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I think the debugger in Visual Studio (Express) is the killer thing that prevents me from using another IDE.
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Visual Studio + Visual Assist X (http://www.wholetomato.com/)
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There are some features in an IDE that are so transformative that you don't know how you lived without them. Integrated help was one. IntelliSense-like functionality was another. VS 6.0's Debug and Continue was absolutely killer. Visual Studio kicked butt for quite a while. Not bad, given the awful NeXTstep rip-off it all started as. (Or is it that memories of NeXTstep has faded until VS seems okay?)
Sure, there are much better EDITORS that VS, but as a complete package for Win32 development nothing seems to come close.
There are free Express editions now, but they seem pretty crippled.
I am quite enjoying Eclipse under Linux (and derivatives of it on Windows used in some FPGA vendor toolchains). I -really- don't like the lack of integrated MSDN-style help, though.
I think it's basically down to those two choices.
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Emacs. Xemacs works fine under Windows. For using it as an IDE, I recommend running it under Cygwin.
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The Zeus editor has support for C/C++ and it also has a form of intellisensing.
It does its intellisensing using the tags information produced by ctags:
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Visual studio is the most up to date and probably 'best' free ide. Dev C++ is a little dated, and mingw doesn't compile most of boost, (except regex). Most of the other compilers are dated and fading, like mars and borland. But you can use whatever you like!
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One that hasn't been mentioned is CodeLite, a powerful open-source, cross platform IDE. It has code completion amongst other features.
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I will quote myself from this question:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/780837/what-is-a-good-linux-ide-for-code-completion/917854#917854
Someone already said this before me, but QtCreator is really good for Qt4 development.
Not only it has a really good code completion support. Free html and css editors. It also knows a little more about the code and what to complete then I thought I needed. For example it knows about slots/signals. This means that connecting slots/signals via code is much easier then before.
The code editing is really nice. I remember that when refactoring code, (a few variables starting with underscore) it remembered the cursor position between lines and this made the refactoring much easier. The code indentation is smart enough to not get in my way (KDevelop was configurable, but QtCreator learns how I code. At least it feels like it does).
Then there are the cool key combinations. Most of the functionality of the IDE can be accessed using shortcuts. The 'control+k' thingie is a nice thing, which some command line users would like, but I am more GUI oriented. I don't use it.
What I really like, is the split window command. Yes, KDevelop3 does it, but not as nice as QtCreator. My favorite is control+e,3 which I use to display the header and implementations of my classes. Once again, the navigation here is the best I have seen (control+e,o).
It also has a nice SCM integration. I usually use SVN, and quite frankly it's not as good as I need: no shortcut to diff the project, no diff to commit the whole project, no option to commit several files.
I also don't like the 'total integration of external tools'. I still like the external QtAssistant - control+tab is easier to read large articles. But.. when you define a QString s, and 3 lines bellow you want to read the interface of QString, you put your cursor on 's' and press F1 - the assistant comes as a sidebar with QString's documentation. A huge advantage.
Want to follow a definition? F2 to the help. F4? Changes header/implementation (yes, eclipse does this better..).
The debugger is good. It's not as good as VisualStudio but .. it has support for Qt4 internals (you can see the value of QString and QList!).
I can continue.. but IMHO you will need to give it a second and third try. It really is a good product. Not as flexible as Eclipse (hi ryansstack), but it's a really small, fast and young project. I stopped developing QDevelop because I really found what I was looking for.
ps: yes, I mean stopped developing QDevelop. I was in the development team.
My response is for Qt4 development only. Be warned.
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SlickEdit is very cool, and does support something like intellisense. At my current company I now use Visual Studio, and I've mostly gotten used to it - but there are still some SlickEdit features I miss.
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As a complete all-in one package, Visual Studio 2008 is the best IDE for C++ development with Windows
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Visual studio is great, but there are few tricks you can enhance it with. SonicFileFinder is one - helps you to search source files by partial match. You can map solution-tree to Alt+1, partial filename search to alt+2, and properties-window to alt+3. These are the three most used windows.
Another great tool that is ofter misunderstood is ctrl+shift+F shortcut for searching file contents. People dont use because it's so slow, but my advice is - deal with it. Searching the whole solution (or even all files in project folder) is only slow the first time you use it. Consequitive searches are as fast as jump-to-definition-feature.
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I've tried SlickEdit, Notepad++, emacs, jEdit and Visual Studio. VS wins hands-down for Best Windows IDE.
jEdit is probably the best GUI cross-platform editor/almost-IDE, and emacs is probably the best terminal cross-platform editor/almost-IDE. The advantage with using these is that when you jump to a Mac or Linux box, you know how they work.
I tried Eclipse, but it ran like a no-legged dog it was so slow, so I didn't use it much. Maybe tech is better now, but eh.
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With Intellisense, code folding, edit and continue, and a whole host of other features, Visual Studio is certainly the best IDE. However, for simple code editing, I often use UltraEdit. It has some great features not found in Visual Studio. One surprisingly useful feature is being able to select a column in the editor. You can find and replace within the column (useful for tabs vs. spaces wars..) delete the column, etc..
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How about CodeBlocks, i find it so fine with me, especially the new 10.05 version.
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I would recommend C++Builder, from Embarcadero, for C++ work and there is also a free version available. If you prefer Visual Studio, download one of free express editions.
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Here's another vote for Visual Studio. The debugger and Intellisense are definitely it's hallmarks. While other IDE's offer code-completion, I've often found them to be somewhat sluggish in this area for some reason (sluggish being a reference to the speed at which code-completion occurs and offers selections).
Other than VS, NetBeans is a good polished IDE and is updated on a very regular cycle.
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I think it's largely a matter of taste, but I would recommend begginers to stick to a pure editor (vi, emacs..) instead of a full fledged IDE so they can figure out the whole toolchain that modern IDEs hide.
Just for the record, my weapon of choice is Emacs.
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personally i dont like microsoft...I hate to admit that visual studio is the best IDE i ever use...Netbeans is gud but drasticaly slow..other free IDEs are useless.so people try to stick with VS..
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The question says specifically IDE so I am guessing thats what you want. In that case, the main options are Visual Studio and Eclipse CDT as stated above. Of those, I personally prefer Eclipse. However, don't necessarily limit yourself to an IDE. I prefer to use vim as my editor and WinDbg as my debugger. For compilation, your project will probably dictate this. I currently use NMAke on the command line.
C++ Editors For Windows
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Use Visual Studio 2010. You can get the full version free with DreamSpark
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged c++windowsideeditor or ask your own question.
If you are working on a big project, you definitely need a good IDE. There are various types of IDE's and you should select the right one which fits your needs.So I decided to give you the list of best C/C++ IDE's for different platforms.
1) CLion
Platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
JetBrains well-known company has created this IDE for C/C++ developers.
- Smart editor
- Embedded terminal
- Various languages and standards: C++11, libc++, boost, JavaScript, XML, HTML and CSS
- Keyboard Shortcuts to help you with the fast project creating
- CMake support
- Code analysis
Why it's a number one? Well, because it has multi-platform support first of all and a has a lot of functions which will help us in developing.
2)Visual Studio
Platforms: Windows
What Is The Best Editor For Python
IDE from Microsoft. The only minus about this IDE that it only works with Windows. This IDE is not only for C/C++ developers, but it also includes many popular languages in its list. If you are working with a team then you probably do need a Pro version minimum which is not free. But if you are working alone then you can use Express edition of IDE which is free.
3) Xcode
Platforms: Mac OS X
This IDE is the best choice for Mac users. Probably there are so many programmers who prefer to use a Mac. And again this IDE like the previous one (Visual Studio) is not only for C/C++ developers, there are many other popular languages supported. It is completely free to use. So you get pretty cool features to develop your program with C/C++.
4) Eclipse
Platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
The second good IDE which has multi-platform support. It is also open-source which is a big plus and completely free.
- C/C++ Development Tools
- Eclipse Git Team Provider
- Mylyn Task List
- Remote System Explorer
5) NetBeans IDE
Platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
Multi-platform, free IDE. Has a lot of good features which can help you with development.
- C++11 Support
- Qt Toolkit Support
- Remote Development
- File Navigation
- Compiler Configurations
6)Code::Blocks
Platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
Multi-platform support, completely free. So why I suggest this IDE? First of all, it is a light IDE.
- Written in C++. No interpreted languages or proprietary libs needed.
- Extensible through plugins
- Open Source! GPLv3, with no hidden costs.
- Multiple compilers support
- Interfaces GNU GDB
- Also supports MS CDB
- View CPU registers
- Switch between threads
- Disassembly
IDE has many features which are listed on its official website.
7) Qt Creator
Platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
Qt is one of the most popular Libraries. You can download the open-source version for free. A really great choice if you want to create a GUI for your application.
- Qt Quick Compiler
- Qt Data Visualization
- Boot to Qt
- Qt Quick 2D Renderer
- Qt WebView
- Qt Virtual Keyboard
C++ Editor Free
You can also purchase the pro version which gives you more features to work.
8) Geany
Platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
It's completely free to use. Lightweight and perfect IDE for C/C++ developers.
- Syntax highlighting
- Code folding
- Symbol name auto-completion
- Auto-closing of XML and HTML tags
- Build a system to compile and execute your code
- Simple project management
9)CodeLite
Platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
- Generic support for compilers with built-in support for GCC/clang/VC++
- Display errors as code annotations or as a tooltip in the editor window
- Errors are clickable via the Build tab
- Built-in GDB support
- Supports C++11 auto keyword, templates, inheritance, etc.