Hey all.Are there any c++ compliers that could run on a imac and are inexpensive?Thanks.

GCC.

Atari 800XL

quote: Original post by Maximus
Is there a platform that that compiler doesnt run on? ^_^

Not a modern one. There are some where its support is sketchy, but work continues on porting and fully implementing it for those. Like UNIX/Linux, GCC is implemented in layers with only the lowest being hardware-/OS-dependent. In fact, all frontends supported by GCC "compile" (more like interpret) to an intermediate format which is then compiled, which makes it easy to add support for new lanugages.

You should at least browse through the GCC online manual one of these days. It''s quite interesting.

So how much am I looking to spend?

quote: Original post by StoNeD_TrOLL
So how much am I looking to spend?

On GCC? Heavens, man! What planet have you been on? (Okay, I'll assume you're new to programming...)

GCC is Free Software. It is both free (as in beer) and Free (as in speech). The freedom of GCC, in the sense of "free beer", has to do with price - you do not have to pay for GCC, though you can if you want to or you can make a donation to the Free Software Foundation/GNU Project.

The Freedom in the sense of speech has to do with restrictions. Proprietary software manufacturers include End-User License Agreements (EULAs) that specify the extent of rights you have to use, modify and distribute their software even after you purchase it. Free Software/Open Source Software imposes no such limitations, allowing you to freely decompile, modify and distribute thier softwareat no cost. The only restictions they do make are that if you modify the software and wish to distribute your modified version, you release the source code to your modifications into the public domain so that everyone may benefit; and that you transfer the same freedoms to everyone who obtains the software from you (meaning you cannot apply a EULA to their software at any point). The full details are enclosed in the GNU General Public License and other Free Software/Open Source licenses.

To answer you actual question: $0.

As nice as all of the above sounds, though, there is an excess of fanaticism in the community which I implore you not to embrace. The notion that all software must be Free and free (thank you, Richard M. Stallman) is just silly and utterly naive. For that reason alone I tend to embrace Open Source more than Free Software. Of course, there is myopia amont Open Source advocates as well, particularly when it pertains to Windows...

But this is a whole 'nother thread.

[Edit:] Donation link.

Edited by - Oluseyi on November 22, 2001 4:22:53 PM