M$ releases VC 2003 toolchain for free !!!
by Nicolas Quijano · in Technical Issues · 04/18/2004 (7:58 am) · 29 replies
Yep, the c/c++ compiler and linker from VS 2003 Professional are released for free !!
msdn.microsoft.com/visualc/vctoolkit2003/
Saw this at gamedev.net
msdn.microsoft.com/visualc/vctoolkit2003/
Saw this at gamedev.net
About the author
Veteran and even a casualty of the mainstream game industry, as well as one of the early adopters of GG's tech : did the first builds of Orbz for MacOS X. A (great) Old One? And like one of 'em Cthonic thingies, from a great slumber or depths, I rise...
#2
04/18/2004 (8:03 am)
Very Cool!
#3
04/18/2004 (8:04 am)
That's what I'm going to check out this week :) 
#4
04/18/2004 (8:23 am)
Does that mean users of .net 2003 Standard can do optimizations now? Hmmm... :) 
#5
04/18/2004 (8:40 am)
This is pretty slick news. Mayhap we'll have support for a new compiler someday...
#6
04/18/2004 (8:48 am)
Rodney: yes :) 
#7
I just paid $508 for Visual Studio .net 2003 Professional when all I wanted was the C++ component in the first place.
I could have used this and purchased a different editor or used eclipse and came out cheaper.
Ugh, I hate when stuff like this happens. Calgari did the samething to me :(
Stuff like this makes me wanna just get rid of windows and microsoft and make linux only games.
04/18/2004 (11:58 am)
Wow that makes me pretty mad.I just paid $508 for Visual Studio .net 2003 Professional when all I wanted was the C++ component in the first place.
I could have used this and purchased a different editor or used eclipse and came out cheaper.
Ugh, I hate when stuff like this happens. Calgari did the samething to me :(
Stuff like this makes me wanna just get rid of windows and microsoft and make linux only games.
#8
Now, maybe it's not worth $500 for just the UI. ;) But I still wouldn't say you've been gypped.
04/18/2004 (12:01 pm)
Pro is still worth getting for the UI, in my opinion. The IDE is really slick.Now, maybe it's not worth $500 for just the UI. ;) But I still wouldn't say you've been gypped.
#9
Plus that money could have been used for multiple licenses of TSE ;)
04/18/2004 (12:10 pm)
Yeah but for $500 I could have gotten another ide or something cross platform for windows and linux. I dont mind creating the gui for stuff myself.Plus that money could have been used for multiple licenses of TSE ;)
#10
04/18/2004 (12:13 pm)
Something is wrong, I post 1 time yet it shows up 2 times. 
#11
These are the same people that originally were charging ~$100 for a point upgrade from VS7.0 to 7.1, right?
Well... cool beans, I dig this wacky little alter-universe.
(Sorry, couldn't help but be a little cheeky here. :) This is cool, and I can certainly understand that MS wants to entice people as much as possible to dev on Windows. I think they almost owe free copies of the 7.1 compiler to owners of VC 7.0, but I wouldn't have expected them to give it away to everyone. Good stuff. *Downloads*)
04/18/2004 (2:05 pm)
You know, I felt a little strange when I woke up this morning. Did I somehow warp into an alternate dimension while I slept? MS giving away a core component of a recent product for free? *Twilight Zone Theme* These are the same people that originally were charging ~$100 for a point upgrade from VS7.0 to 7.1, right?
Well... cool beans, I dig this wacky little alter-universe.
(Sorry, couldn't help but be a little cheeky here. :) This is cool, and I can certainly understand that MS wants to entice people as much as possible to dev on Windows. I think they almost owe free copies of the 7.1 compiler to owners of VC 7.0, but I wouldn't have expected them to give it away to everyone. Good stuff. *Downloads*)
#12
04/18/2004 (4:41 pm)
INSANITY! I really hope that Bloodshed C++ is altered to allow compilation with this toolkit!
#13
04/19/2004 (1:19 pm)
So...I'm wondering what the best IDE is to work with this. Anyone, anyone? I've heard TIDE, eclipse, IDEA. Just wondering what's the easiest for a newbie to work with.
#14
none of them! hanging by your thumbs is hard for every newbie! that is until you get used to it.
seriously, learning C++ at any kind of profiency level is a very daunting task for anyone that is NOT already a programmer. IDE is the least of your concerns.
04/19/2004 (1:25 pm)
Quote:So...I'm wondering what the best IDE is to work with this. Anyone, anyone? I've heard TIDE, eclipse, IDEA. Just wondering what's the easiest for a newbie to work with.
none of them! hanging by your thumbs is hard for every newbie! that is until you get used to it.
seriously, learning C++ at any kind of profiency level is a very daunting task for anyone that is NOT already a programmer. IDE is the least of your concerns.
#16
As a side note I have heard of people having the standard version of visual C++ and just copying the compiler and related files over to their visual c++ directory and they can now use the optimizing compiler as well even though the options are shaded. But you can just type them up in the command line.
04/19/2004 (2:24 pm)
You have to be careful though. Make sure you read the EULA as it wouldn't suprise me if you are not allowed to distribute the executables with this free version. I think this is a great thing though as the this compiler is very good.As a side note I have heard of people having the standard version of visual C++ and just copying the compiler and related files over to their visual c++ directory and they can now use the optimizing compiler as well even though the options are shaded. But you can just type them up in the command line.
#17
04/19/2004 (2:41 pm)
There are no catch : you can use those exes for commercial work.
#18
04/19/2004 (4:51 pm)
Well, I actually have access to VS 2003 .Net from work, but the other two guys I'm working on a game with don't have it and I'm assuming it's best if we all stick to the same Dev tools. That's why I was hoping this would fit the bill.
#19
I thought about doing it but would hate to repeat what someone is already doing.
04/19/2004 (4:53 pm)
Is anyone working on a batch compile to work with the Toolkit?I thought about doing it but would hate to repeat what someone is already doing.
#20
It also includes the single threaded runtime dll, for dynamic linking, afaik.
I'm not sure if you can circumvent this in any legal way :)
04/20/2004 (7:45 am)
One important caveat, that has nothing to do with the EULA : you can't link against the multithreaded runtime .dll, as it only includes the following (from a GD.net post) : Quote:These runtime libraries are included:
libc.lib (release single-threaded static-link C runtime)
libcd.lib (debug single-threaded static-link C runtime)
libcmt.lib (release multi-threaded static-link C runtime)
libcp.lib (release single-threaded static-link C++ runtime)
libcpd.lib (debug single-threaded static-link C++ runtime)
libcpmt.lib (release multi-threaded static-link C++ runtime)
It also includes the single threaded runtime dll, for dynamic linking, afaik.
I'm not sure if you can circumvent this in any legal way :)
Associate James Urquhart