r/learnprogramming • u/Loki00000000 • 1d ago
Currently Learning to Program and Looking to download an IDE on my computer
I have been learning to program in the C and C++ languages. I have been using a free online IDE called GDB Online. I have a Lenovo laptop and I bought and finally connected a 2TB external hard drive. I am also trying to learn the programming side of video game development. I say all this so that those who read this have some context. Is Microsoft Visual Studio a good and reliable IDE for learning to program in general and for learning to program video games? If it is not please recommend another IDE. Thank you to any and all who comment and I look forward to the response.
2
u/Krotekoker 1d ago
Visual Studio is great! It comes with compilers and everything you need.
It can be a little overwhelming at first, since it’s a full blown IDE with tons of features you don’t need right now, but it’s the industry standard.
2
u/serge-mv 1d ago
Visual Studio, the full one, is one of the best IDEs, imo. If that's what you want to use, then just use it.
Also, an IDE is not really some huge choice you make once and for all. You can simply pick one, use it, and if you don't like it, try something else. If you have no experience, then just get the top 3 IDEs for C++ and try them out yourself. Even the free open source ones can be very good.
2
u/Mediocre-Pumpkin6522 1d ago
Visual Studio is very handy if you are on Windows and install the appropriate work loads. VS Code is cross platform and has extensions for almost everything. That's for general programing. If you want to work with Unreal, for example Visual Studio is easier.
1
u/princepii 1d ago
i code in many languages and i use sublime text with terminus and a few extensions.
it's so lightweight u wouldn't believe. also vim or nvim are very good.
but i em on debian gnome wayland. no more win or mac. and there is open source alternatives for really anything.
i just can't be friends anymore with full blown ide's like vscode or visual studio. so bloated up it's just crazy. you don't even have to do anything and only start the app and your fans are blowing 5k to 7k rpm for no reason.
just a terminal is fine too with the right approach. a compiler and a few extensions if you use a editor/semi ide like sublime or vim and you good to go.
2
u/TheGreatWorm 1d ago
Idk if id recommend vim or neovim to a beginner. I agree and love how light weight it is, you’d probably just be better off starting with visual studio or c lion and moving to something light weight when you can fully appreciate it
1
u/FreeLogicGate 15h ago
Agree, there are so many options these days. I've seen a lot of people using Zed. I have the Jetbrains product license, so I use their editors most of the time, but I'll also use VSCode. If I need to do a quick edit on linux, I will still open up vim, and the basic keys are still under my fingers, but other than that, give me an IDE any day of the week. I don't have a potato for a workstation, and could care less if I'm using a lot of resources, if the IDE makes me more productive.
1
u/FreeLogicGate 16h ago
Visual Studio was designed for people writing windows applications.
Visual Studio Code was designed for web applications in html/css/javascript and typescript. It's modular, and supports a plugin system that can be used to add features and support for other languages. It's not purpose built or designed specifically for windows application development. However, you can write C/C++ using either product. And in fact, you can create c/c++ source with any text editor. There are also multiple compilers you can utilize to build your applications.
With that said, when you bring video game development into the picture, you should probably start by looking at the most popular video game engines, which typically come with their own tools/IDE and development environments.
There are a lot of different engines, some purpose built for certain certain game genres, some 2D only, some more commonly used for 3D games, and some which have a significant commercial and licensing component to them, although that's probably not a concern while you are learning.
Of those, the most popular engines you should look at would in my opinion be Unity (C#), Unreal Engine (C++) Godot (C#, C++ and GDScript).
If you want to start with 2D games, then you should also consider LÖVE, which utilizes the Lua language.
In these cases, you're going to locate and download the game engine, and start learning how to work with it, as games made with these engines usually an assembly of components, assets, and scripting put together in a way specific to the engine, and ultimately compiled and built into the game using the framework.
You can get an idea of the various games made with these engines by doing some research, and using resources like steamdb.
0
u/BranchLatter4294 1d ago
VS Code is the most popular editor. Visual Studio is good.
You don't have to pick just one. Try a few to see what works best for you.
1
u/Loki00000000 1d ago
For some reason that I do not understand myself, my mind is telling me to double check and verify.
2
u/gm310509 1d ago
You need to be careful to not fall into the "analysis paralysis" trap.
This is where you contemplate so much detail and solicit so many opinions - in a subject where there are many possible options each with their own advocates and pros and cons - as a result you can never proceed as there are still more things to consider.
You kind of need to pick one (it will probably do the job) or two and try it out.
Your question is not dissimilar to which is the best colour - there is no correct answer, not even a best overall answer.
-2
u/Watsons-Butler 1d ago
I’d skip Visual Studio and use VS Code. But if you’re working in C and can get a student license for free, I’d grab CLion from JetBrains.
4
u/serge-mv 1d ago
VS Code is not an IDE and can be even more confusing and frustrating to someone who is very new and could actually benefit more from the ease of use of a real IDE.
2
u/Watsons-Butler 1d ago
Sure. Thus my suggestion of CLion.
I just have never liked Visual Studio for anything and do not recommend it.
2
u/serge-mv 1d ago
I like VS very much and recommend. Been using it way before CLion existed. It doesn't really matter what IDE you use anyway. Whatever floats your boat is fine.
Also, your first recommendation was VS Code, not CLion. CLion is your second choice, but that's a full IDE and can be used by the newbies.
1
u/SpaacemanK 1d ago
I believe Vscode kinda blurs the lines between an IDE and a plain editor, with all the possible extensions you can add, you can turn it into an IDE if that’s what you’re going for
1
u/serge-mv 1d ago
You still have to configure it, install all proper extensions and you still won't get all the features that the full VS provides. Think about a newbie who doesn't know the difference between a compiler and a code editor and wouldn't even know where to start with all of that. If you know, then just use whatever you like. But IDE is great, especially for newbies.
1
1
u/NightflowerFade 1d ago
These days on a new machine I just get Claude Code to set up the environment for VSCode according to instructions I have saved
3
1
u/taeratrin 1d ago
Yes, it does kind of blur the lines a bit, but I think messing around with plugins to get everything right is going to be more complicated than just installing Visual Studio. It might be a good goal for the future to move to VSC for performance reasons, but that's for when they have a better understanding of what they need for the particular development work that they are doing. I would not recommend it for beginners.
7
u/Acceptable-Fig2884 1d ago
Visual Studio (which is different from Visual Studio Code) is great. It can be a little complicated but you don't have to worry about most of it's functionality right now. For a beginner, it's pretty easy to get started with it and just code.