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Topic: VC++ 6.0 programmers, read this!

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Popolon
Admin Group

Joined: 05 November 2002
Location: Spain
Posts: 3132

Posted: 25 February 2004 at 16:33 \| IP Logged

After spending like two weeks around a stupid "bug" in the engine I've discovered a really shocking thing: MS VC++ 6.0 compiler has a lot of bugs!!!!

In fact, my engine didn't have any bugs, and it was just the compiler that introduced the bug! If some of you experience a problem like this: your program works in debug mode, but doesn't work in release mode. Try this solution: set the optimizations to "default" instead of "maximize speed". The compiler of MS VC++ 6.0 has a bug, and some speed optimizations do not work!! That's another point against microsoft products...

read more about this bug: here

MP83
Senior Member

Joined: 05 December 2002
Location: Finland
Posts: 900

Posted: 26 February 2004 at 13:13 \| IP Logged

That happens when the source code is only in company's private use. Otherwise that kind of bugs would have been already fixed.

But that's only a one bug. Where's the others you mentioned? I would like to see some list, it would make my life much better.

Popolon
Admin Group

Joined: 05 November 2002
Location: Spain
Posts: 3132

Posted: 26 February 2004 at 13:55 \| IP Logged

VC++ 6.0 has got a lot of bug fixes releses. Currently there is service pack 6 available. You can check MSN website and see what bugs fix service packs 1 to 6. However, the bug I mention is known ans not fixed by any service pack!!!

JEames
Admin Group

Joined: 05 November 2002
Location: Catalonia
Posts: 498

Posted: 26 February 2004 at 15:32 \| IP Logged

I think that M$ does'nt plan to support much of VC++ any more due to the new release of C# in it's .NET developement platform. VC++ 6.0 has bugs (like any developement plaform) but, indeed, VC++ is a very good developing platform; better (IMO) than .NET.

The proof it's a good platform is that you (Popolon) are using it!

BTW: have you tested the Visual Studio .NET? -It's one hell of a developement plaform. Just to install it you have to count 3 Gigs of hard disk (if you include the complete MSDN). To be honest, I hardly understand all the improvements (most of them security related) but it's really a pain in the ass just to install besides the fact that you need a new machine just to complie and run the classical "Hello Word".

On the other hand it seems that M$ is jumping in the "free" developer resources. Check this link:

http://www.asp.net/webmatrix/

It's a free version of the asp.net developer envoriment. I don't now if it works for C# or what features have been taken off from the VS.NET but it's only 1.3Mb (in fact I think it's only used for ASP developers).

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Jason Eames Lamarca
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Popolon
Admin Group

Joined: 05 November 2002
Location: Spain
Posts: 3132

Posted: 26 February 2004 at 16:11 \| IP Logged

Actually, I've always used Borland compilers, but Microsoft took the lead with VC++5.0, and then I switched to VC++.

VC++6.0 has a lot of improvements over VC++5.0, but I do not like the BIG jump of VC++7.0, so I stay with VC++6.0. Do you use VC++7.0 in GetPut Jason?

Currently I'm thinking to switch to DEV C++: http://www.bloodshed.net/dev/devcpp.html, that is a free development environment to compile with GCC.

But the debugger of VC++6.0 is so fu*** cool that I still prefer to use VC++6.0 instead of DEV C++...

And about bugs, of course that all the development environments have bugs, but very seldom in the compiler itself... I was really frustrated since I've spend 2 weeks looking for bug that wasn't there!

Edited by Popolon on 26 February 2004 at 16:14

James
Guest
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Joined: 25 January 2003
Posts: -368

Posted: 20 October 2004 at 10:11 \| IP Logged

Just because a bug only appears when compiled with optimization doesn't mean that it is a compiler bug. I've had the same thing happen to me with gcc, it was my fault. The problem is that lots of things in C++ are undefined. If you do something to an area of memory which has undefined effects, it might turn out OK in debug mode, which watches memory more closely, but break in optimized mode.

As an example, I recently submitted a patch to someone else's game where they were calling string.erase(string.begin(), string.end()) on en empty string. You are not supposed to do this, but in debug mode (compiled by gcc) it worked fine in any case. In optimized mode, it crashed on some computers, but not on others.

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