From: "Jan Bares" Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp Subject: I want to migrate from VC to free Win32 compiler Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 15:51:16 +0200 Organization: Video On Line Lines: 40 Message-ID: <8it5kn$2rrn$1@news.vol.cz> NNTP-Posting-Host: antek.vol.cz X-Trace: news.vol.cz 961681879 94071 195.250.137.143 (22 Jun 2000 13:51:19 GMT) X-Complaints-To: sysadmin AT vol DOT cz NNTP-Posting-Date: 22 Jun 2000 13:51:19 GMT X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2919.6700 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6700 To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com DJ-Gateway: from newsgroup comp.os.msdos.djgpp Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com Hi, I am looking for free compilers that can be used for professional development of Win32 applications. I am not a newbie, our company already developed and sold thousands of copies of our 2D CAD engine JPCAD (http://www.antek.cz) and many applications that run on top of this engine. We are currently using Microsoft Visual Studio and SDK. Now I want to know if there are free alternatives. I already spent some time searching the net but I am confused. Can you spare me a few minutes and answer those questions? DJGPP is 32-bit compiler for DOS. But it can be also used to compile Win32 applications with RSXNTDJ cross-compiler. What is purpose of this cross compiler? It compiles from what language to what language? If I have 32-bit compiler, I think that I need only: *Win SDK headers/libraries (SDK is for free at Microsoft) *Compiler that can accept Microsoft extensions to standards (as DLL import/export etc) *Linker must have option to generate EXE/DLL headers. *Other tools that are necessary for developing like Make, GUI debugger etc. When I look to djgpp, cygnus, mingw, I see lot of utilities and binaries that doesn't fit into this idea. Why I need cross compiler, why I need 4MB DLL for Cygnus etc? Is the main reason that those compilers are mainly used to port Unix applications to Windows? How reliable are those compilers? I don't want to invest weeks in setting up the developing environment, spend more time hunting for bug created by unreliable compiler/linker. Do you think it is worth the time? Best regards, Jan (sorry for this confused mail) -- Jan Bares (remove no.spam from my email address) JPCAD Graphics Engine developer, surf to http://www.antek.cz