[ACCEPTED]-Learning C++ without an IDE-compiler-construction

Firstly, are there any books or websites 37 that teach C++ from this approach? (IDE-less)

Yes, definitely. Stroustrup's book has 36 already been mentioned. For learning C++ I'd 35 also recommend two other books: If you like 34 thorough explanations and don't shy away 33 from 1000 pages, look at Lippman et al. If you rather 32 like a short introduction and don't fear 31 a steep learning curve, look at Koenig/Moo. Both are 30 excellent books. (BTW, a good place to look 29 for good books has always been the book 28 review section at the ACCU.)

As for which tool 27 chain you want to use: If you rather have 26 a standalone editor and invoke the compiler 25 from the command line, you can do this with 24 either GCC or VC. This approach has the 23 advantage that it is more unlikely to lure 22 you into using something proprietary (like 21 C++/CLI). If you would like to try an IDE, VC 20 Express is fine, once you're past setting 19 up a new C++ project. Of course, the number 18 of options you can tweak for a new project 17 can be very overwhelming. But on the other 16 hand you get things like an integrated debugger. Note 15 that there are other integrated solutions, too. The 14 most mature and prominent is probably eclipse.

Edit: If 13 you don't mind spending a little money, look 12 at Comeau. It's not free, but it's not expensive 11 either and it's usually considered to be 10 the most standard-conforming C++ compiler 9 around and has excellent error messages. (You 8 can test-drive it at the website.) Note that it emits 7 C code, though. That means you have to have 6 another compiler to create an executable 5 program. But both GCC and VC Express will 4 do, so there's no other cost. (Note that 3 using VC you will get Dinkumware's std lib 2 implementation, which is also considered 1 to be a very good one.)

Use MinGW - it's a command-line C++ development 4 toolchain that allows you create Windows 3 applications. The SO link you quoted seems 2 to have all the relevant details, so I don't 1 really understand why you posted this question.

Firstly, are there any books or websites 10 that teach C++ from this approach? (IDE-less)

Start 9 from reading The C++ Programming Language book. Written by Bjarne Stroustrup, the 8 creator of C++, this is the world's most 7 trusted and widely read book on C++.

Take 6 a look also at Programming — Principles and Practice Using C++. It is an introduction to 5 programming for people who has never programmed 4 before. It will also be useful for people 3 who have programmed a bit and want to improve 2 their style and technique - or simply learn 1 modern C++.

I am developing on Windows and from what 10 I understand, it seems that there is 'pure' C++ and 9 then C++ that is somehow related to windows, is 8 this Visual C++? I would like to write programs 7 that make use of Windows features but 6 I want to know when I am using windows 5 features and when I am writting code that 4 would work on any platform.

MS Visual C++ 2008 3 Express is a free IDE aimed at folks like 2 you, it's available by download from Microsoft, I 1 recommend you try it out.

Visual C++ is the name of the IDE program 13 package. Installing it installs many things 12 including the compiler cl.exe, which can 11 compile, depending on settings, program 10 written in either the C, C++, or C++/CLI 9 programming language (for the .Net framework).

You 8 can use the compiler on the command prompt 7 without the IDE by (for example) selecting 6 Start > Programs > Microsoft Visual Studio 5 X > Visual Studio Tools > Visual Studio 4 X Command Prompt. This execute a script 3 which sets various environment settings 2 needed to compile programs before giving 1 you the command prompt.

On Windows I'd recommend you Visual Studio 7 Express - it's free and is widely accepted 6 by C++ programmers on Windows platform.

Since 5 you're starting to learn language, don't 4 bother yourself with differences, advantages/disadvantages 3 of compilers and IDEs - leave it when you'll 2 be more proficient with the language and 1 will be involved in writing real program.

I actually suggest IDE approach, Microsoft 12 Visual C++ Express Edition should do the 11 trick. Excluding some fancy syntax most 10 C++ compilers behave the same way. C++ is 9 a language that has a very small standard 8 library (covering mostly I/O functions, basic 7 math etc..) this is probably what you refer 6 as pure C++. For something more advanced 5 you'll have to use system libraries.. In 4 example if you want to write windows gui 3 application you'll have to include windows.h 2 header file which is platform specific and 1 exists only on windows compilers..

If you won't use an IDE, you definitely 7 want to use Makefiles to organize your workflow... and 6 you can make easily from emacs or vim.

Anyway, may 5 I suggest you to use a very simple, almost 4 non intrusive IDE, that could be great for 3 learning purposes: http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html

It comes with the MinGW 2 compiler bundled, so it's just install and 1 go.

I'd say to start out with Visual Studio. This 11 is a great IDE for programming C++ on windows, might 10 as well use it when it can speed up certain 9 things a lot.

The differences between compilers 8 aren't that huge - if you can write solid 7 code in VS then it shouldn't be a problem 6 to figure out how to get your code working 5 in GCC/G++.

As for books; Exceptional C++ by 4 Herb Sutter and The C++ Programming Language 3 by Bjarne Stroustrup are a great read.

Visual 2 Studio is the way to go when developing 1 for Windows.