Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003

[crackhead]

im really sorry if this question has been asked a million times but a mod can delete this after its been answered. im going to buy this tomorow: Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003. is this the right software yo be getting. im very new to this kind of coding so i really need something that is going to work properly with hl2.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Yup. Although, for added cheapness, you can buy Visual C++ .NET Pro 2003, which only includes C++ (the bit you need for HL2), and is a couple of hundred cheaper.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[crackhead]

does it need to be pro coz i just realised you can buy 2003 standard or academic for about 100 pounds

 

[Angry Lawyer]

I bought Visual C++ .Net 2003 Standard. Cost me exactly £99, and it's produced Zombie Master. Best £99 I've ever spent.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[crackhead]

oh right cool well ive found it for 75 pounds ha! ive got a very chunky c++ book that i finaly have the courage to get started on.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Enjoy. Make sure you have a second build on your machine, to test out concepts, rather than something you're ever going to release. Don't be afraid to mess around with the code - you don't have to release everything you make.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[crackhead]

cool thanks ive just ordered it from amazon.

 

[Epsi]

Yikes. Apparently, the next version of the SDK will have proper support for VC++ 2005 Express, which is currently free in the beta and will be about $50 or so, I heard.

The features not included are ones you would probably never use for a mod anyways. But 2003 is a good product too.

 

[Shinobi]

Here's another queston probably everyone asked


can I use a free IDE like bloodshed? or does it have to be MS?

 

[Pajari]

Here's another queston probably everyone asked


can I use a free IDE like bloodshed? or does it have to be MS?

Not only does it have to be MS, it has to be Visual C++ .net 2003. The SDK will not compile with anything else.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Not only does it have to be MS, it has to be Visual C++ .net 2003. The SDK will not compile with anything else.

It CAN be compiled with other things, but it takes a greater man than me to make it work.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[crackhead]

yeah i heard it could be compiled on some of the free *ansi? compilers but its really hard.

 

[Pajari]

It CAN be compiled with other things, but it takes a greater man than me to make it work.

-Angry Lawyer

Do you mean Visual C++ 6 or something? I read somewhere that worked, but there was considerable work involved, so I didn't really figure it was worth mentioning.

 

[crackhead]

i heard theres a free one that can do it but as you said takes a lor of work

 

[TechnoHippyChic]

I'm not sure if they're doing this in England, but if you go to a Visual Studio / SQL Server 2005 launch event in the States, you get full copies of both for free:

Ready Launch Tour 2005

I'm registered

 

[crackhead]

thats visual studio 2005 though.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Valve have stated that they're going to make the SDK compatible with it, so she's right.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[crackhead]

oh kool oh well too late i already bought 2003

 

[Osilo]

I don't know if I'm understanding this correctly, but are you guys saying that 2005 won't be backward compatible (solutions and such)? That'd be another smart move for microsoft.

 

[crackhead]

i dont quite understand you but at the moment 2005 doesnt work with the hl2 source sdk properly but microsoft and valve are working together to so that there will be a source update so that it does work with the sdk. i hope that doesnt cause problems with using the 2003 edition coz ive spent 80 quid on it lol.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

I don't know if I'm understanding this correctly, but are you guys saying that 2005 won't be backward compatible (solutions and such)? That'd be another smart move for microsoft.

They're both ISO compliant, so any code written in them can be compiled (with a little work) with nearly any C++ compiler. But its that little work that puts most new coders off of Source.
2005 is going to be purchasable in a cut-down, low-cost version. Valve want coders to work with their engine. It makes sense for them to make sure that the cheap compiler works 100% without the needing any modifications on the code, as it'll encourage people to take up coding.

-Angry Lawyer