Should I NOT use Visual Studio 6.0 for programming games?

[jm]

I have Visual Studio 6.0. I probably will not have C++.net or C#.net
for a while. Is it a wrong decision for me to learn to write games
using Visual Studio 6.0, since they have all the .net stuff now? I
don't want to use a language so antiquated it won't be worth taking
the time to learn to use it.

On the other hand, I really am confused. I realize that Visual Studio
is a product and that I can use regular old C++ with other compilers.
But I want to use DirectX 8.+ and am thinking I may be just too far
behind the times. Thank you for your opinions.

 

[Thomas Matthews]

I have Visual Studio 6.0. I probably will not have C++.net or C#.net
for a while. Is it a wrong decision for me to learn to write games
using Visual Studio 6.0, since they have all the .net stuff now? I
don't want to use a language so antiquated it won't be worth taking
the time to learn to use it.

I would definitely say don't use it. There are other compilers
out on the market. I just hate supporting Microsoft when I don't
have to.

By the way, the C language is older than C++ and it isn't antiquated.
The C++ language is still getting its bugs worked out. The C#
language still has to go through its time to get the language worked
out.

On the other hand, I really am confused. I realize that Visual Studio
is a product and that I can use regular old C++ with other compilers.
But I want to use DirectX 8.+ and am thinking I may be just too far
behind the times. Thank you for your opinions.

Yep you are because this newsgroup doesn't discuss graphics.
You can update your knowledge and learn to post to the correct
newsgroups. Read the C++ FAQ and welcome.txt as listed in my
signature.

--
Thomas Matthews

C++ newsgroup welcome message:
http://www.slack.net/~shiva/welcome.txt
C++ Faq: http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite
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alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++ faq:
http://www.raos.demon.uk/acllc-c++/faq.html
Other sites:
http://www.josuttis.com -- C++ STL Library book
http://www.sgi.com/tech/stl -- Standard Template Library

 

[Icosahedron]

I have Visual Studio 6.0. I probably will not have C++.net or C#.net
for a while. Is it a wrong decision for me to learn to write games
using Visual Studio 6.0, since they have all the .net stuff now? I
don't want to use a language so antiquated it won't be worth taking
the time to learn to use it.

On the other hand, I really am confused. I realize that Visual Studio
is a product and that I can use regular old C++ with other compilers.
But I want to use DirectX 8.+ and am thinking I may be just too far
behind the times. Thank you for your opinions.

There are libraries for DirectX 8 for VC6. We use it where I
work for some of our programmers and it works fine.

That much said, it's not DirectX support where VC6 falls short.
It doesn't support the full Standard Library, and it doesn't
support many C++ features that are becoming more and more used as
time goes on.

For my home projects, I use MinGW with the available DirectX 9
adaptation. It works fine. It also supports most of the C++
features and can use the latest Boost and other libraries with
few if any problems.

 

[John Harrison]

I have Visual Studio 6.0. I probably will not have C++.net or C#.net
for a while. Is it a wrong decision for me to learn to write games
using Visual Studio 6.0, since they have all the .net stuff now? I
don't want to use a language so antiquated it won't be worth taking
the time to learn to use it.

On the other hand, I really am confused. I realize that Visual Studio
is a product and that I can use regular old C++ with other compilers.
But I want to use DirectX 8.+ and am thinking I may be just too far
behind the times. Thank you for your opinions.

You have to appreciate the difference between a language and a library. VS 6
has problems with the C++ language, particularly in areas like templates. A
question about what areas of the C++ language VS 6 is deficient in would be
on topic in this group.

dotNET and DirectX on the other hand are libraries (or application
frameworks if you like) and have nothing to do with C++. I can't see any
problem using DirectX from VS 6. Also the dotNET SDK is a free download from
Microsoft. Questions about dotNET, DirectX etc are off topic in this group.
Try a Microsoft group instead.

john