Re: VC++ 7.0 Challenge

From: William Kempf (sirwillard_at_[hidden])
Date: 2000-08-22 10:51:33

--- In boost_at_[hidden], Levente Farkas <lfarkas_at_m...> wrote:
> William Kempf wrote:
> > The good thing is that Intel already has a drop in compiler for
> > VisualStudio.  Maybe they'll reach standards conformance with out 
MS
> > and programmers will switch in large enough numbers to drive the
> > point home to them.  Better yet, the .NET initiative by MS will 
allow
> > any language vendor to integrate with VisualStudio so the door 
will
> > be open to even more vendors.  In any event, with VC++ 7 it may be
> > time for programmers to leave MS in droves to convince them that 
they
> > must follow standards conformance!
> 
> the problem is if you have devstudio you already paid for msvc++ 
and a compiler
> itself (like intel's one), even it's much better, not enough.

Point taken.  Buying VS and then a third part C++ compiler to work 
within it won't make much difference to MS, will it?

> the other problem
> is the standard c++ library. even if you use intel's compiler you 
still you
> ms's c++ lib (which is another nightmare).

It's not MS's lib, it's Dinkumware's.  The lib shipped with VC++ 6 
won't be the one shipped with VC++ 7.  I've not used the latest 
Dinkumware lib to know how conformant it is, but I would guess it's 
as conformant as possible given compiler limitations (and since 
Dinkumware no longer targets only VC++, hopefully that means fewer 
such limitations).  In any event, the library is the least of the 
concerns, since there are (free) alternatives.