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The V IDE for GNU g++ and Java
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Object Central
needs your help! I've run ObjectCentral for over 5 years now for
free, but it has recently become a significant financial burden,
and so I've decided to ask for voluntary donations to help me
keep it going! These donations will help me to continue to
support VIDE and V GUI. Anything, $10 or whatever you find
appropriate, will help. I know everyone won't be able to help,
but please donate if you can. Click on the PayPal button, and you
can use your credit card to make a donation. Thanks!
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Announcing VIDE 2.00!
VIDE Version 2.00 was released on April 20, 2003. It has lots
of great new features.
The V Integrated Development Environment
VIDE is the V Integrated Development
Environment for the GNU g++ compiler and the standard
Sun Java Development Kit. The current release is Version 2.00
for MS-Windows and Linux (RedHat 6.x, 7.x, 8.x; Mandrake 8.x; others).
Executables for MS-Windows 9x/NT and Linux are available
for download.
| VIDE Debug Session Click to see full size view. (50K)
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VIDE has been designed by a programmer for programmers.
It makes the task of developing software for C/C++, Java, and
HTML much easier than using command line mode. It is easy to
learn, so it is a good tool for the beginner. It also has the
critical features needed to enhance the productivity of the
experienced programmer.
The source code is available
under the GNU Public License (GPL), and many parts of its
design reflect the philosophy of GNU and Open Source.
Whenever possible, VIDE takes advantage of existing
GPL or freely available software. It is designed to use
the GNU gcc compiler and the free Sun Java kit. It
also uses the GPL ctags program, and the addition of
more integrated support for other GNU tools is planned.
While VIDE doesn't have every feature found in many
commercial development systems, it is an ongoing project, with
more features included in each release. And best of
all, VIDE is free!
And since it is GPLed, you can help add even more
features if you want.
The main features in the current release of VIDE include:
- A great editor - The VIDE
editor is a very good editor designed for the programmer. Editor features
include:
- Syntax Highlighting for C/C++, Java, Perl, Fortran, TeX and HTML.
- Several menu-selectable editor command sets, including:
- A generic modeless command set, similar to many Windows editors.
- Vi - the standard Unix editor, with extensions.
- The See editor command set, an editor designed and used by
Bruce Wampler, the author of V and VIDE.
- Others easily added by extending a C++ class.
- Beautifies C/C++ and Java code
- Powerful command macro capability
- Complete support for ctags (symbol lookup)
- Project Files - specify source files, compiler options,
and other details required for g++ or Java.
Project files simplify and hide most of the details of using
the underlying tools.
- gcc and Sun JDK - Supports development of both C/C++ with the GNU gcc/g++ compiler
for MS-Windows and Linux, (OS/2 environment soon), as well as
the Java development using the Sun JDK.
- Borland C++ Compiler 5.5 - VIDE has very good support for the
free Borland command line compiler tools. It
can build Console, GUI, and static library project files. It also
includes some extra documentation about the Borland environment.
VIDE also supports Borland's Turbo Debugger TD32.
- Building Projects - Uses standard GNU make to build projects for
g++, and the standard features of the JDK to build Java projects.
- Syntax errors - Point and click to go to errors in source files.
- Supports gdb and jdb - Integrated support for the GNU gdb debugger for C/C++
and Sun's jdb debugger for Java.
The most common debugging tasks,
such as stepping through a program, are fully
integrated, yet all the more advanced features of gdb and
jdb are available
through a command line window.
- V GUI - Integrated support for the V GUI for C++, including
the V app generator and the V icon editor.
- HTML - Extra support for HTML development. While VIDE doesn't
support WYSIWYG HTML development, you
can send the current HTML file to your browser for immediate viewing.
A comprehensive HTML help document is included.
Future versions will include more HTML features such as table generation
and image sizing.
- SMALL - The entire VIDE package
is distributed in a file that still fits
on one floppy (about 1.1 Megs). The VIDE executable is only about
500K, and it will run well on slower machines with as little as 16Megs!
- The VIDE Help System - Many useful documents for
using HTML, gnu tools, and C++ are available on the web. For
links to this help, see
Help Links.
- Available Windows Resource Editor - WeditRes, the free Windows
resource editor from the
LCC-Win32
compiler package is available as a stand alone add-on for VIDE.
See the download page.
New Features in VIDE 2.00
Version 2.00 is a major new release of VIDE.
The new features include:
- Tabbed MDI Interface - This is the major change
for the Windows version of VIDE. There is a new file tab
bar just under the tool bar. This tab bar will show
up to 8 file names (shortened to fit on the buttons).
You can easily switch from file to file using the tab buttons.
This will work either in regular cascaded windows, or with
each file window maximized. The little right arrow button
will move from file window to file window, while the double
up/down arrow will toggle the windows from cascaded to maximized
and back. This is a major enhancement for the Windows version,
and I will also try to add this feature to the X version for
Linux.
- Three Window Arrangements Modes - The tabbed MDI bar has
allowed VIDE to support three basic ways of arranging file windows.
The first is the traditional Windows MDI mode, but with file
tabs. The second is using VIDE with the Windows maximized, again
using the file tabs to switch windows. Finally, there is a tiled
display mode that places the Console Window that shows output
from the compiler at the top, with files displayed in the bottom
of the main window. When using gdb, the debug window will also
show at the top, which makes debugging much easier. Click on
the button that shows two Windows on the tool bar to toggle
in and out of tiled display. Depending on just what you are
working on, you can pick which of these window display
arrangements to work with.
- Reopen previous -
When you first run VIDE, if you use File:Reopen previous,
the Project and files (up to 10, at any rate) that you had open
in your previous session will be reopened. You can use the
Options->VIDE dialog to make VIDE automatically reopen
the last session when it starts.
- Support for MinGW 2 -
With the MinGW 2.0 version of gcc, the make tool was renamed to
mingw32-make in the new distribution, which made things a bit
confusing for VIDE. This version will attempt to look for both
mingw32-make and the regular make tools.
- gcc DLLs for Windows -
The project wizard now can generate project files to
build DLLs on Windows.
- Better support for other compilers -
A new build generic project option lets you start a VIDE
project file that can be customized for other compilers
such as Fortran or Pascal.
- New Project File - linker spec, library files, relative paths -
The format of the project file has been changed a bit. All source files
are now specified using relative paths for more flexibility where
you keep your source files. Library files are now specified as a list
rather than options on the linker specification.
- Better support for grep -
Support for grep has been more closely integrated into
VIDE. This makes it even easier to grep for patterns across
files.
- .ini file in Application Data -
The VIDE .ini file will now be stored in the
user Application Data directory on Windows
XP/2000 rather than in Windows.
- Better right click menu -
The right mouse click drop down menu has been improved.
You can now use it to look up ctags and grep patterns.
You can also select a file name (like a .h
file), and right click to open it.
- Mixed C++/C projects -
There is new support for mixing C and C++ source files.
- Improved documentation -
The documentation has been updated, and documentation
for several GNU tools is now included.
- New function key short cuts -
New function key short cuts have been added to the
menus.
- Bug Fixes - Some minor bugs were fixed. There was
a problem when the Borland compiler path had a space in the name.
The MinGW make file stamp problem will occur less frequently.
Interaction with gdb has been improved.
| IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR BORLAND BCC32 5.5 USERS
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VIDE support for BORLAND BCC 5.5 is was very stable, however, it appears that this compiler is no longer available. (2/15/08)
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Important VIDE Links
The executable version of VIDE is totally freeware.
Use it, share it, do whatever you want. The source of
VIDE falls under the GNU General Public License,
and is normally included with the V
GUI distribution. See the file COPYING included with
the distribution for more information.
This program is provided on an "as is" basis, without warranty of
any kind. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of
the program is borne by you.
This page last updated 15 Feb 2008.
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