
Code Blocks: open-source, cross-platform, free C, C++ and Fortran IDE - uyoakaoma
http://codeblocks.org/
======
pkd
This is a very well maintained and mature open source project. But allow me to
say that I absolutely loathe Code::Blocks.

I am still at university and they make us use this for C++ editing. I have
made it a point to not use it and instead have been doing all my university
C++ lab work on gedit because I find it much less frustrating than
Code::Blocks and also because I don't have the rights to install Emacs.

The debugger is a pain to use, autocomplete is dumb, and the interface is
simply difficult to use. I remember I had a hard time making it not use XTerm
as a terminal when I initially tried to fight with it. I simply gave up. I
even found NetBeans C++ mode to be an improvement simply because the debugger
was better integrated.

On the flip side the interface, however unintuitive, does look consistent
across platforms and there are a load of tutorials about C++ on the web which
use Code::Blocks because of its popularity.

Its good to see an open source project going strong, and it might be great for
newbies at universities when somebody else sets stuff up for you, but for my
editor needs, I would look elsewhere.

~~~
versteegen
You don't have to be an admin to run emacs on Windows:

    
    
        To install Emacs, simply unpack the binary package into a directory
        of your choice.  To complete the installation process, you can
        optionally run the program addpm.exe in the bin subdirectory.
        ...
        For instance, you can now run Emacs
        directly from a CD or USB flash drive without copying or installing
        anything on the machine itself.
    

I used Code::Blocks maybe 6 years ago. I agree with your assessment. It was so
bad, it was the main reason I ditched Windows and switched to GNU/Linux +
emacs. After Code::Blocks I thought that IDEs were best avoided. (Edit: For
what it's worth, I didn't like Visual Studio any better, I should have used
emacs + a Makefile all along.) More importantly, I found compiling OSS Unix
software on Windows was just too painful. On any decent GNU/Linux distro
everything is set up for you!

~~~
pkd
Installing Emacs is not the problem. Although I am on Ubuntu in my University,
I can build from source. Its is setting everything up to my liking for a
computer that I will only use a total of a dozen times that I don't want to
do. Maybe I am too lazy :)

~~~
versteegen
Hmm, not sure why I assumed Windows. Probably because at the time I switched
away from Windows to the liberation of the Unix commandline I never even
thought of checking whether Code::Blocks or Dev-C++ ran under GNU/Linux.

I have a custom .emacs file (predicated to work on Windows/Linux/Mac and
several emacs versions and including a function to install all the custom
packages I need) and other config files like .bashrc in a git repo fr quick
setup. Having to compile emacs yourself would be hugely frustrating though.
I've never gone that far. I use TRAMP instead :)

------
AdmiralAsshat
Any plans to migrate away from Sourceforge for the pre-compiled binaries? Alot
of people are becoming uneasy with them as a host given their recent history
of malware-wrapped packages. Some adblocking subscription lists even blacklist
the domain.

~~~
ktRolster
FWIW the new owners of Sourceforge plan on changing that
[http://fossforce.com/2016/01/sourceforge-and-slashdot-
have-b...](http://fossforce.com/2016/01/sourceforge-and-slashdot-have-been-
sold/) , quote:

"We disagree with some of the previous monetization strategies from an
industry and business perspective, and have immediate plans to discontinue
programs inconsistent with our being a trusted and reliable resource for the
entire open source community."

Sourceforge has nice features if you get away from the malware.

------
cannon10100
I used Code Blocks when I was first learning C++ for game development about 4
years ago. Solid IDE, not incredibly pretty.

~~~
onetimePete
It had some issues with the console_host not dieing on abort? Killing the
process was one of the not so funny memory's of my tutor existence at some
university courses.

Otherwise solid little IDE though. Works always out of the box. On almost any
system you throw at it. And where there is complaints there is at least usage.

------
a3n
I just installed it from my linux distro's package manager.

I started it from the command line, as I like to do with a new program. I was
surprised to see not one windowing error, just administrative messages
associated with the first run, and general setup. Sad to say that's unusual.

------
brudgers
Homepage: [http://www.codeblocks.org/](http://www.codeblocks.org/)

~~~
dang
We changed the URL to that from
[http://www.codeblocks.org/downloads/26](http://www.codeblocks.org/downloads/26).

------
arc0re
I don't use an IDE for coding in general (unless forced to), but I must admit
that Code::Blocks is pretty good. Not has effective as VS or QTCreator, but it
still does the job.

------
przemoc
Code::Blocks was definitely better than horrendously buggy Dev-C++, but since
Qt Creator I never looked back (ok, I do use vim very often, but it's a
different thing). To be fair I haven't checked Code::Blocks for years (8 years
at least), so maybe nowadays it gives more than notepad+syntax-highlight+tabs
feeling.

BTW Everyone, please write "Qt Creator" with space between "Qt" and "Creator".
I don't know how spaceless variant got so widespread.

------
0x54MUR41
This is my second IDE after Dev-C++ [1] when I was taking basic programming
course in my university. I prefer Code Blocks to Dev-C++ because it have good
features, like code completion and syntax highlighter. The source code is
easier to view in Code Blocks.

[1]:
[http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html](http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html)

~~~
FooBarWidget
Add the fact that Dev-C++ is no longer maintained is also good reason to use
Code Blocks.

<\--- former Dev-C++ contributor

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smoreilly
Why is this news? Code Blocks has been around for ages. If they're talking
about the latest release the title should be updated.

------
laveur
I question why this was posted. AS its been around for years now, and I
personally feel like this is a marketing attempt.

~~~
mbel
Originally it was pointing to latest release, then it was moderated to
project's home page:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11012314](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11012314)

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kevinSuttle
I'm not a C/C++ dev, so forgive my ignorance. Is Visual Studio [Community] not
the standard anymore?

~~~
__mp
I use QtCreator: It's pretty solid and has good and fast code completion.

~~~
hellofunk
QtCreator on OSX has proven buggy for me in the past. I tried to give it
another try recently, and it depended on a version of Xcode that is 2 version
numbers ago. I'd have to edit the various installation assertions myself to
get it to find and use modern Xcode.

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hathym
C++ is back

~~~
syaz1
When was it gone?

