I first started programming C++ about 4 years ago. I love the language but like most beginner
programmers I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money on a compiler, since I didn't know whether
programming would be something I would want to take off with. It turns out I'm addicted to computer
programming and have written many applications and even two video games. I probably never would
have made it to this point if it weren't for the free Bloodshed Dev C++. I disagree with "jbaadams"
above in saying that the software is outdated and unusable. In actuality its perfect for beginners and
even intermediate to advanced programmers. If you learn programming the way I did, you start by
learning console programming. Then you graduate to programming Windows. For both of these, DevC++
is all you need. After, learning Windows you may graduate to programming in DirectX. This is where
the DevC++ IDE begins to lose it. When I first started learning DirectX programming, I started with
older versions of DirectX that supported outdated features like directdraw. DevC++ works great with
directdraw and other older directx features. However, when you start programming using Direct3D,
the DevC++ IDE becomes unusable, because it does not have a lot of the libraries necessary to handle
Direct3D even if you have the DirectX SDK 8.1 or higher. But, come on!!! Number 1, by the time you get to where your programming Direct3D you are advanced enough to where you should consider investing in
a more sophisticated IDE, and number 2, dont forget the DevC++ is a FREE IDE. It doesn't owe you anything!!
I, personally, think it gets you a lot farther than it really should. Never mind what "jbaadams" says.
1) he says it should be made unavailable; on the contrary, I think all C or C++ programming students are
extremely lucky to have it available. 2) It doesn't have all of the "bells and whistles" that some IDE's
have but as was stated above, as a beginner, its better that you dont have these "hand-holding" features.
The DevC++ IDE is somewhat basic, but that's what makes it easy to learn and understand, and that's
exactly what you need if your beginning programming. I give it a 20 out of 10 rating!!!