Easiest Cheapest way for C++ Dev on AmiOS?

[Rodney]

I recently doubled the RAM in my old P2 233 and its CPU to 400MHz and now UAE runs a bit better. Im confident i can compile stuff now .

I downloaded the SAS compiler and before you know it, my first program on the Amiga was finished. So what if it was a hello world program .

Next i'm going for the big one. Im going to try my hardest to impliment the w3c DOM standard, Level 1. I chose this because i like XML and i've wanted to do something useful for the Amiga community. I noticed some expat parsers on aminet, but no DOM. DOM is great!

Anyway, i have much planning to do although im very eger to start. Soon enough i realised SAS doesnt do C++ with what i've donwloaded and installed.

After some browseing, i've come to the conclusion that it might cost some money for SAS/C++. OR am i mistaken? There didnt seem to be much usfual information there about how to get C++ working, like what packages i need, libraries etc.

Anyway, i guess im asking, should i scap SAS and go Gcc as by looking at the packages on aminet, it all seems avaliable . What's the cheapest easiest way to develop C++ applications on  AmigaOS?

[Kronos]

Yes the latest SAS had C++, but that was done with an extra
pre-compiler, and is damn slow (o.k. last time I gtried it was
on a 030/32mhz). It is also a rather old version of C++, so better
don't even think about that.

Your options:
Download gcc (for free)and be prepared for some serious tackling.

Buy the latest DEV-CD which comes with a free copy of StormC3,
ought to be enough for most projects and the CD is a must anyways.

Get GoldED-AIX wich comes with a preconfigured gcc-setup.

Only the 2nd option offers you a debugger, but won't be able
to produce any code for OS4/MOS (not even sure if that version
has PPC-support at all).

So
easy way : StormC/DEV-CD
cheap way : gcc pure
best way (IMHO) : GoldED

[Rodney]

Sweet, for now, i'll go with gcc as its the most avaliable right now. Its installation seems pretty straight forward, cept im now sure what the "inline headers" and "Amiga Libraries" sections are in the readme.

I alomost looks like i might be able to do with out them?

The "Amiga Libraries" section talks about libnix.lib, which im not sure really what it does.

Im sure if im porting unix apps i'll need ixemul.lib but otherwise i dont need it? And what i about libnix.lib, do i need it?

Edit: It says in the README that libnix is an AmigaDOS compliant library. So this just means its a library for GCC that impliments AmigaDOS functions or the AmigaDOS API?

[Leo42]

                        Hi,

I'm afraid you do not have the choice if you want to do some C++ on Amiga: GCC...

StormC3 could also do c++ but was expensive... the new v4 also does c++ but uses its own modified gcc compiler...

GCC sucks but it's the only (cheap) usable solution for the Amiga ;(

[Piru]

GCC sucks

Sucks how exactly? Personally I find gcc (2.95.x) great.

[gnarly]

1) HiSoft do or did a C++ compiler IIRC.
2) H&P do StormC which does C++ I believe.
3) GCC is free but has no IDE.
4) Unless you buy GoldED which is preconfigured for GCC IIRC.

[Kronos]

@gnarly

HiSoft-C is identical with MaxonC which something like a
stoneold "copy" of StormC-V1.

Odd thing is that it was done by the same people who later did
StormC and that both suffered from the same bugs   ;-)

[Piru]

2) H&P do StormC which does C++ I believe.

H&P StormC V3 is quite useless: It's buggy and generates slow code.

V4 is just IDE for gcc.

[Dietmar]

> [gcc] Sucks how exactly?

It's very very slow and there is no souce level debugger for gcc.

[Piru]

It's [gcc] very very slow and there is no souce level debugger for gcc.

It's not that slow, on up to date computer.

Source level debugger: gdb

[Yellow]

Is SAS/C compiler freely downloadable nowadays? If it is, where can I download it? Thanks.

[Dietmar]

Is SAS/C compiler freely downloadable nowadays? If it is, where can I download it? Thanks.

No. A reasonable free alternative would be vbcc. vbcc doesn't have its own debugger but that is made up by the support for morphos and other PPC targets.

[Piru]

A reasonable free alternative would be vbcc.

You need to also remember that vbcc doesn't do c++, just c.

[Dietmar]

H&P StormC V3 is quite useless: It's buggy and generates slow code. V4 is just IDE for gcc.

That's not exactly true, AFAIK: StormC4 is not just a frontend for gcc but adds very useful components that are not freely available, such as a debugger and run-time environment etc. Even if it were "just" an IDE, an IDE can be a very useful thing to increase your productivity, compared to a bare-bones gcc.

[Dietmar]

You need to also remember that vbcc doesn't do c++, just c.

Yes, as is SAS/C (unless you consider its preprocessor as a serious C++ development platform, which I don't).