Is VC++ worth buying?

Greetings all, I'd like to ask you who thinks its worth buying VC++? I have Borlands C++Builder 6, as well as Dev C++ and DJGPP. I find all of these nice to use, especially CBuilder, but I find with CBuilder I am forced to supply tonnes of dll and bcl files along with my own program, which can easily triple the size of it all.

Does VC++ have a way to include such libraries in the executable generated, and do you think it is worth purchasing as a compiler? I notice a LOT of programming tutorials on things such as DirectX and OpenGL all seem to expect the user uses VC++. Any help on this decision would be greatly appreciated.

~ Paul

Edit: Also, I expect it comes with inline assembly or something like that, but can it generate stand alone code (in the way that GCC does), for things such as operating system development?

I dont know alot about the extent of VC++ abilities, but i use it and its all i use (also tried borland). I would reccomend you get hold of a demo of VC++, or one of the beta's, and toy round with it. See if you like it. As for wether its worth buying, i would say no. Not because i dont like it, but because the prices are steep. I purchased .NET Enterprise Architecht but i got a deal i couldnt pass up.

yes visual c is worth buying BUT if i were you i would wait for the next incarnation codenamed everett which is out in beta now and as far as im aware fully standards compliant at last ( except maybe export, not sure about that and dont care much either) and will finally support partial template specialisations.

Well I found I could get the academic version for AUD$127, so the price is no big deal, I'd just like to hear your thoughts on it.

if you do not need fairly advanced templates then it is good. But i would really wait for the next version it should be out by the end of the year i think.

For that price i would purchase it. .NET is solid, and i love it.

.net is not solid.....

try to compile something as simple as this. Its valid c++ according to the standard. gcc should compile it with no trouble.

Code:

---

template < class A >
class a {};

template < class A >
class a<A*> {};  // partial specialisation for pointer types

template < class A >
class a<const A*> {}; // ditto pointer to const

template <>
class a<char> {};

template< class T >
void f(T)
    {}

template< class T >
void f(T *)
    {}

template<>
void f(char)
    {}

int main()
{
  a<int> a1;
  a<char> a2;
  a<char*> a3;
  a<const char*> a4;
  f(1);
  f('1');
  f("1");
  return 0;
}

---

Ok, perhaps solid was the wrong word. I have never done templates, allow me to rephrase:

For what i have done in VC++ .NET, it seems to be solid.

i would recommend it.....its pretty much all ive ever used, and i havent had any problems with most tasks...incase there ever is a problem tho, i have Borland, Dev, and Codewarrior as backups :)

I believe it's the #1 selling compiler. (Borland is the most popular free compiler.) That doesn't make it the best, but if you were looking for a job, it wouldn't hurt to say "I use MSVC++", because the odds are that they use it too. If I was taking a beginning class, I'd want to use whatever the instructor and/or most of the other students were using.

I don't think it's the easiest compiler to learn to use, because of all the features and the particular IDE user interface... But, I've never used a compiler that worked the first time! There's always some "trick", or something to re-configure.

I'd say yes, it is worth the $100... if you have the cash. (There are lots of students who don't have the "extra" $100.)