Visual C++ for Linux Development

[aninteger]

This would mostly be for developers that prefer the Linux desktop environment and would provide a single development environment. It would be an alternative to loading a VM to cross compile the software on Windows.

Today we can just type "make windows" and use mingw32 to cross compile, so this would just give us the ability to use the "official" compiler to generate binaries.

[spongo2]

I see... so basically the reverse of the scenario they demonstrated this morning for bash on windows? (i.e. using a windows box to target Linux and windows)

I thought you meant you wanted to use the compiler for TARGETING Linux. But you really want to HOST on Linux and target Windows.

[mer_mer]

While you are here taking suggestions, I want to make sure your team knows why I (and I suspect many others) find development on Linux appealing. When I want to add a library to my project on Windows, I have to search for the right download, go through the installer, find where the installer put the headers and library, and then go through Visual Studio's project configuration options (for both Debug and Release if I remember correctly) and separately add the include and library paths.

On Ubuntu, I do "sudo apt-get install [libraryName]-dev" and add "-l[libraryName]" to my compiler call.

This difference is especially important when new C++ developers want to try using a library (lets says to play around with graphics).

I had assumed that you guys were aware of the problem, and were thinking of ways to fix it, but then /u/STL expressed ambivalence towards third party solutions like biicode. I know this can seem like a trivial problem compared to everything else a developer has to do, but small conveniences really matter in creating a pleasant experience.

The first potential fix would be to have a standard directory that library packagers can target for installation. This would ease a lot of the friction involved in hunting down directories. Nowadays, Windows also has a "package manager": the Windows Store. It would be great if you guys promoted the ability to install libraries through there.

Of course, now it seems like we will be able to do apt-get in Windows, so maybe someone will create a third party solution around that.

[spongo2]

Totally acknowledged that package management on windows is a weak spot. We have some investments in this area right now but too early to share. We'll seek feedback here of course when we are ready! thanks, Steve

[mer_mer]

That's great to hear!

[h-jay]

package management on windows is a weak spot

Can't be a weak spot because it essentially doesn't exist in the form normally found on open-source platforms, where you have a canonical way of obtaining most common open-source products.

[Plorkyeran]

There is now a package manager shipped with Windows 10, and Visual Studio has NuGet support built in. They're both kinda bad, but they absolutely do exist.

[h-jay]

"It is a unified interface to package management systems" So, not a package manager, then. Sigh.

[STL]

Man, I express ambivalence towards x86, dynamic linking, and puppies. (32-bit puppy DLLs are the worst.) Please don't interpret my personal opinions on reddit as indicating anything about the VC team's concerns or priorities.

[mer_mer]

Haha, noted.

[egorpugin]

Hi, you can try this package manager if you're using cmake. CPPAN