C compiler for Windows? [closed]

Answer 1

GCC is ubiquitous. It is trusted and well understood by thousands of folks across dozens of communities.

Visual Studio is perhaps the best IDE ever developed. It has a great compiler underneath it. But it is strictly Windows-only.

If you're just playing, get GCC --it's free. If you're concerned about multiple platfroms, it's GCC. If you're talking serious Windows development, get Visual Studio.

Answer 2

Most universities give you access to Microsoft Dreamspark.

If you're using GCC/Linux in class, just install Ubuntu. Windows is a terrible platform for C development.

Answer 3

GCC works fine. Note that MSVC is not necessarily a valid solution because it does not support C99.

Answer 4

I use either BloodShed's DEV C++, CygWin, or Visual C++ Express. All of which are free and work well. I have found that for me, DEV C++ worked the best and was the least quirky. Each compiler has it's own quirks and deifferences, you need to try out a few and find the one with which you are most comfortable. I also liked the fact that DEV C++ allowed me to change the fonts that are used in the editor. I like Proggy Programming fonts!

Answer 5

I personally have been looking into using MinGW (what Bloodshed uses) with the Code Blocks IDE.

I am also considering using the Digital Mars C/C++ compiler.

Both seem to be well regarded.

Answer 6

http://www.mingw.org/wiki/HOWTO_Install_the_MinGW_GCC_Compiler_Suite