i've finally managed to persuade my dad to let me load linux onto our family comp, so yesterday i installed mandriva special edition 2005, everything seems to work (except my modem which isn't compatible, d'oh!) and i can boot windows or linux, however i need a good C++ IDE, preferably one which doesn't need any extra libraries or compilation. Can anyone help?

Thanx IE

Well, you should try command line compilation with gcc and g++. It's easy and fun. But if you reaaaaaaaaaaally have to have an ide check out kdevelop (check if its on your system first; some distros come with it.)

i don't think i have it, but i've found the source and some compilation instructions so i'll have a go at compiling it.

you can also try anjuta. its always better if you select them at installation stage.
i too would recommed to learn to use emacs as an IDE with gcc, gdb, cvs etc used behind-the-scenes, especially if you have long term plans with C/C++ development on GNU/Linux.
if you can install java runtime in GNU/Linux, then Eclipse IDE is an excellent choice, nothing can beat it, not even emacs.

i tried anjuta but the home page wouldn't load (not a good start) however i've NF88's advice and taken up command line compilation using g++ i'm also using qmake to write makefiles from .pro files, NF88 was right it is fun!

See, I told ya it was fun! :D

you were most definately right,

also qmake rocks cos i was scared of writing my own makefiles.

Well theres your problem!

Mandriva, suse, fedora, they are all wannabe windows distros............. No security, you can't choose what you want to install, no manually set compiler options, no USE flags, and ohhhh the rpm files, horrible.

Switch to a distro that lets you make your installation.

The greatest Distro Ever

(I don't wanna sound like an advertisement or anything ;) I just hate mandrake)

Linux isn't secure out of the box, but a Mandrake system can be secured just as well as a Gentoo, Slackware, or Debian system.

USE flags are a Gentoo-specific concept, are they not? There are good distros out there that don't have USE flags.

Mandrake actually isn't a bad distro for someone who's fairly new to Linux and doesn't want to spend 1+ day(s) installing and configuring an OS. I tend to recommend Slackware for Linux-newbies, but Mandrake is fine for someone wanting an easy transition from Windows to *nix. I wouldn't necessarily rush a user into a tedious Gentoo installation, although I myself am a big Gentoo fan and user.

-Ch4r

i switched from mandrake to ubuntu recently - i decided i didn't like mandrake, i thought about gentoo but got scarded by the install process, lol!

Bah, don't be intimidated by it. It's just long and tedious, but it's worth it!

-Ch4r

possibly but i havn't got time yet

Actually ALL Linux Distros Are Secure... at least compared to windows

Linux systems aren't secure out of the box, and if you don't keep your system updated and put a little effort into securing it, it won't be secure. It's as simple as that, and the same concept holds true no matter what OS you're on.

-Ch4r

I think what he means is they are more resiliant to viruses, mainly cos noone makes viruses that run on linux!

You would need to be signed on as 'root' for a virus to be able to do 'root' things right?

(side note) I wouldn't suggest Ubuntu because (as I've heared, never checked up on it though) it doean't come with GCC(!) I like slackware. It would be awesome if I had net in there, I'd never use windows again.

I am guessing so, unless it somehow knew your root password, or found some exploit in the system

No.

Do a google on "Root Kit"

http://www.rootkit.nl/projects/rootkit_hunter.html

here you go, excelent tool, use it myself to check if my system has any vulnerablities

ubuntu does come with gcc, but it isn't ready installed you install it from the disk using synaptic

damn i didn't know that , unbuntu might stil have a chance then :P
does it have xmms too ?

whats xmms?

X MultiMedia System it's kind of winamp clone for XWindows

i don't know, probably.

edit: it will be in the ubuntu repository if its not included

Ubuntu does have XMMS - but you first you must do this, tho I prefer amaroK :P :

http://www.ubuntuguide.org/#extrarepositories

I use KDevelop3 for all my coding. And the command line for compiling.

I find Kubuntu nicer :D

Does anyone have any suggestions about what to start c++ programing with and please try and keep the tech jargin to a min.

FYI = i started origanally with mandrakes linux redhat 7.2 and c++ for dummies and that is not a good combonation.Mandrake installs easy as eating your favorite pie but there was no support outside of linux systems and i couldnot get the compiler to work...

Illegal Enzyme, GIVE ME YOUR LINUX. I'll give you a biscuit? :)