[Schecters]

I've decided to learn to program, and I'm thinking of starting out with c++. I don't really know what compiler I should use. I have a subscription to MSDN, and I can get Visual Studio .NET 2005 Professional for about $30. Is visual studio a good choice? I honestly don't know the pros and cons of compilers. I assume that visual studio will have a hefty overhead, seeing as it's a M$ product.

If it's not a good choice, got suggestions?


Thanks guys.

[jaeusm]

I've decided to learn to program, and I'm thinking of starting out with c++.

You'd probably find it easier to start with C#, which is also supported by Visual Studio 2005. C# seems to be Microsoft's flagship language for application development on Windows.

Is visual studio a good choice? I honestly don't know the pros and cons of compilers.

Visual Studio is an IDE (integrated development environment), not a compiler. However, it does ship with a compiler.

As a professional developer, Visual Studio is an excellent development environment. I have not found any other IDE that compares with it.

I assume that visual studio will have a hefty overhead, seeing as it's a M$ product.

Being a Microsoft product has nothing to do with it. All IDEs have some overhead, but it's not slow. The tools that Microsoft develops for software developers (like Visual Studio) are among the best tools for any type of development. You should probably understand that Microsoft is like several small independent companies -- products developed by some teams are better than others.

[Schecters]

So do you think it would be worth it to get Visual studio to begin with? Or should I just get a standalone compiler?

[jaeusm]

Go with Visual Studio. Any decent books you read on C# will have at least some bit of information about using Visual Studio. I put a list of learning resources on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Learn-NET-and-...hor_title_full

[Schecters]

Thanks for the help!

[Brinson]

The Visual Studio Express 's used to be free...I'd check that first.