best ide integration Topic is solved

Do you have a question about makefiles, a compiler or IDE you are using and need to know how to set it up for wxWidgets or why it doesn't compile but other IDE's do ? Post your questions here.
Post Reply
cnewbie77
In need of some credit
In need of some credit
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 2:00 am

best ide integration

Post by cnewbie77 »

hello

i was wondering which ide is the best for wxwidgets?
newbies have more fun
Jorg
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3971
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2004 9:38 pm
Location: Delft, Netherlands
Contact:

Post by Jorg »

Hi,

There are two big IDE's that are most commonly used, wxDev-Cpp which is a very good (but unfortunately Windows only) IDE. There are plans to make it cross platform I think. It is free and uses gcc, and they are actively developing it, and very responsive to questions.

Then there is Visual Studio. This is also one of the most used IDE's although the professional versions are not free, I guess the older versions are.

Here is a link to a lot of IDE's and their respecitive links:

http://www.wxwidgets.org/wiki/index.php ... vironments

Regards,
- Jorgen
Forensic Software Engineer
Netherlands Forensic Insitute
http://english.forensischinstituut.nl/
-------------------------------------
Jorg's WasteBucket
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jorgb/wb
cnewbie77
In need of some credit
In need of some credit
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 2:00 am

Post by cnewbie77 »

hi thanks for that link :) what about wxWorkshop which is mentioned in wikipedia, pre alpha, but is it usable yet?

also visualwx (mingw) seems like it could be good too?

not to forget codeblocks and DialogBlocks too!

so is there any advantage in buying say vc++ 6.0 or visual studio 2005 or dialogblocks over using visualwx?
newbies have more fun
cnewbie77
In need of some credit
In need of some credit
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 2:00 am

Post by cnewbie77 »

ok so:

wxWorkshop is not ready
visualwx same
wxhatch same

which leaves
DialogBlocks
Code::Blocks

which is better? i'll try code::blocks first, but dialog blocks is my guess as the best.
newbies have more fun
Jorg
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3971
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2004 9:38 pm
Location: Delft, Netherlands
Contact:

Post by Jorg »

To be politically correct:

Code::Blocks and wxDev-Cpp are equally good. It is a matter of taste.

Both have their weak and strong points, so it's a matter at which you feel at home. You can also use KDevelop with wxWidgets, but that is linux only.

Another option is Eclipse IDE, but the CDT plugin for C++ development is rather hard to get working with wxWidgets, although there are some tutorials here and there on the net explaining how it's done..

Regards,
- Jorgen
Forensic Software Engineer
Netherlands Forensic Insitute
http://english.forensischinstituut.nl/
-------------------------------------
Jorg's WasteBucket
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jorgb/wb
DanRR
Knows some wx things
Knows some wx things
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 10:35 pm

Post by DanRR »

Well, this is a newbie speaking, I'm just getting into the wxWidgets and it's tools now, but I've made some research on it and I can evaluate them compared to other software tools I've worked with.

So here is my list:

wxDev-Cpp
-------------
Very nice tool, resemble in appearance and feel the Borland CPP Builder, which is a fantastic RAD tool.
wxDev is very easy to start working with, the installation includes the wxWidgets, MinGW copiler, and it's all preconfigured so you just have to install and run. It's GUI builder also frees you from the need to mess with the annoying sizers, which are kind of a drawback for a newcomer.

MinGW compiler and debugger
-----------------------------------
Compiles little forms into huge applications, and dose so in painful compilation time. It's debugger has only the very basic capabilities.
But, it's free software (gcc based).

Microsoft visual studio express
-----------------------------------
I was surprised that Micro$oft is giving it free. It has a good IDE, compiler and debugger. I didn't tested it with wxWidgets, so I can't make judgement on that.

Code::Blocks IDE
--------------------
Very nice IDE (be sure to get the latest nightly build) has an integrated GUI builder called wxSmith, which I didn't fount very comfortable to work with.

DialogBlocks
---------------
Very nice GUI builder, written by Julian Smart, the founder of wxWidgets.
I played with it a bit and had some problems with making it work with Code::Blocks, so I decide to spend my time on other things.
Note that this is not a free tool.

wxFormBuilder
-----------------
Great GUI builder, resembles DialogBlocks, but has more more appealing looks. The thing I liked best about it, is the fact that it integrates smoothly with Code::Blocks IDE.

Conclusion
-------------
I think the best tool for Windows is wxDev-Cpp, it is certain the best to start with. I am not using it because I need the ability to port applications to Linux and this is a Windows only tool.
My selection is the Code::Blocks IDE, wxFormBuilder for building GUI and MinGW as a windows compiled
Deschamps
Knows some wx things
Knows some wx things
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue May 01, 2007 12:16 pm

Post by Deschamps »

DanRR wrote:(..) My selection is the Code::Blocks IDE, wxFormBuilder for building GUI and MinGW as a windows compiled
I totally agree with your comments. If you love open-source tools, and need some cross-plattform developing (or not), then Code::Blocks (as IDE), wxFormBuilder (as GUI Builder) are the perfect choices for me, ATM (both in nightly-builds, of course). GCC (or MinGW for Windows plattforms) is also my preferred compiler.

Regards.
Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted
cnewbie77
In need of some credit
In need of some credit
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 2:00 am

Post by cnewbie77 »

hi thanks Jorg/Dan/Des

i looked at code::blocks however the last stable build was years ago, so it didn't give me confidence, where as mr smart has a company and the product seems live and constantly upgraded, so i downloaded it in demo form, it took all night with all the compilers lol :)

i only just opened it now, however, i got the impression that it was a complete development suite ie a replacement for the bloodshed, borland and vc++ environments?

just starting to play with it now...
newbies have more fun
dsilvia
Earned some good credits
Earned some good credits
Posts: 145
Joined: Sun May 29, 2005 3:42 pm
Location: Bettendorf, Iowa, USA (aka, BFE)

Post by dsilvia »

cnewbie77 wrote:hi thanks for that link :) what about wxWorkshop which is mentioned in wikipedia, pre alpha, but is it usable yet?

also visualwx (mingw) seems like it could be good too?

not to forget codeblocks and DialogBlocks too!

so is there any advantage in buying say vc++ 6.0 or visual studio 2005 or dialogblocks over using visualwx?
Actually, DialogBlocks is probably the best integrated and is available on any platform that wxWidgets is on. For up to 30 elements in an application, it's free for use. For more than that, you need to register for a nominal fee. No, it's not free then, but then it comes with something the freebies don't: support from the author, Julian Smart. Even if you only use it for building wxWidgets libraries, the free version is worth it (free, that is). For much, much more, register and it's the best you'll ever use. It also does makefiles for any compiler/build system that wxWidgets recognizes (and more).

Visual Studio C++ Express is free and the compiler is exactly the same as the paid versions (and it's optimized, which previous versions of Visual Studio did not suppy, paid or free).

You cannot use the IDE in any Visual Studio, paid or free, for wxWidgets toolkit, it knows nothing about it. DB on the other hand does know about Visual Studio and will build a makefile for nmake or a project and solution file for Visual Studio IDE (versions 6, 7, 7.1, and 8 ).

Together, for a Windows platform (my primary), DB and VS2005 C++ Express can't be beat. Use DB to do all your wxWidgets code generation and then do the debugging and hand coding in Visual Studio. Visual Studio has a better debugger and Intellisense for hand coding!;)

The only other platform I deal with is Linux, and when I complete a project in DB on Windows, I just copy it to Linux, generate a makefile for GCC with GTK and voila!\:D/ There I have it running on Linux. I would imagine other platforms are similar.

Also, with DB, you only pay once, not once for each platform. A single registration allows you to download as many DB's for as many platforms as you have.

Try it, you'll like it!;)

thx,
Dave S.


wxMS_developers
cnewbie77
In need of some credit
In need of some credit
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 2:00 am

Post by cnewbie77 »

i'll try those suggestions dsilvia, its my prediction that is the best advice available :D
newbies have more fun
spicerun
Earned a small fee
Earned a small fee
Posts: 24
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 8:14 pm
Location: Dallas Texas

Post by spicerun »

cnewbie77 wrote:ok so:
wxWorkshop is not ready
Look for new code late in 2009 that will work with the current wxWidgets at that time, and the wxAUI libraries.

--Spicerun
Current Project Admin for wxWorkshop

Questions? E-mail me at [email protected].
timw4mail
Experienced Solver
Experienced Solver
Posts: 99
Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:59 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Post by timw4mail »

Personally, I use GCC/MinGW and Netbeans. But that's just me ;)
My wxWidgets Program:Snaga

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Solaris, Mac
IDE/Compiler:Netbeans with MinGW/GCC, Sun Compilers for Solaris, Xcode for Mac
wxWidgets Version:2.8.7
Deschamps
Knows some wx things
Knows some wx things
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue May 01, 2007 12:16 pm

Post by Deschamps »

cnewbie77 wrote:i looked at code::blocks however the last stable build was years ago, so it didn't give me confidence (..)
Just as explanation: You should look for it again, because on february,28 a new stable release (8.02) has been launched. And I think that wxFormBuilder (which has also released an stable version -3.0- recently) is an incredible companion for this IDE, but you can use it as an alone application as well.

Regards.
Misquotations are the only quotations that are never misquoted
Post Reply