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Qt Alternative c++ IDEs and compilers

Here are some Qt alternative c++ compilers and IDEs I’ve been experimenting with:

MinGW pre-compiled c++ headers and compilers:

Code::Block IDE:

MinGW64:

Qt has the awesome QtCreator IDE to work with your projects. But I haven’t progressed beyond Qt 4.8.x so I’m stuck with targeting 32-bit platforms, even though I’m developing on a 64-bit machine.

Code::Block is another noteworthy IDE and apparently runs competently out of the box. I downloaded their minGW installer and it detected all the existing kits on my system. I had to do some minor linking to dependency libraries, but otherwise it was really easy to target 64-bit platforms. But the 64-bit Windows exe uses a lot of CPU resources for some reason. So there might be some extra stuff compiled into it that I’m not familiar with. Otherwise, no fuss.

Lastly, using rubenvb’s precompiled minGW files and compiling through Windows Command Prompt, I’ve been able to successfully target 64-bit platforms. The 64-bit Windows exe runs optimally and doesn’t use up much CPU resources like the ones compiled through Code::Block. But there are some minor quirks like the cursor not adjusting automatically. For example, if you resize the window, the cursor doesn’t revert back to default arrow cursor. So I have to manually set the cursor.

Most of the setup is the same. You download and install your kits and source files, ie, DirectX SDKs, Microsoft SDKs, OpenGL SDKs, Qt SDKs, etc. Then go to Windows Environment Variables and add the correct paths to these kit locations manually. But if your IDEs are robust enough, they might be able to automatically do it for you. If not, you need to find the feature that allows you to set the proper paths to these kits and files. Otherwise, you have to use Windows Command Prompt, which is very clunky, but when it works, you know you can rely on it because it “keeps it simple stupid”.

Have fun playing around with c++ on Windows! And it’s free, you just have to learn a bit! It’s worth it, kids.