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Joe St Sauver, Ph.D.
Director, User Services and Network Applications
joe@uoregon.edu
Most Unix programmers are quite familiar with GCC (http://gcc.gnu.org/), which really sets the standard for Unix compilers, as well as various vendor proprietary compilers such as those offered by Sun and HP (formerly Compaq, formerly Digital Equipment Corporation).
However as PCs running Windows have become faster and faster, there has been growing interest in Windows-oriented C/C++/Fortran/Pascal compilers, too.
There are many good commercial compilers available for Windows users, but if you're looking for a free option, you're in luck—some excellent free compilers are now available for Windows:
Open Watcom compiler suite. For example, on February 7, 2003, Open Watcom released a free open source C/C++/Fortran compiler suite for Windows users. For more information, please see http://www.openwatcom.org/
Borland compiler. Borland has released its C++ Compiler (version 5.5) for free download. See http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,20633,00.html
If you miss the "good old days," you may be interested to know that Borland is also making free copies of some of its "antique" compilers (as released circa 1989) available at no charge from their online "software museum." For example, you can obtain Borland Turbo Pascal 5.5 from http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,20803,00.html, Borland Turbo C v2.01 from http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,20841,00.html, and Turbo C++ 1.01 from http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,21751,00.html
Salford compilers. Salford's FTN77 Personal Edition Compiler for Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP, including the Salford C/C++ Compiler, is available free for private non-commercial use. Note that this license permits personal use at home and use by students for their personal studies, but it may not be used in teaching environments such as college or university classes, nor in university projects with commercial funding. Executables display a popup box with a licensing message at run time. For more information, see http://www.salfordsoftware.co.uk/compilers/ftn77pe/
Digital Mars compiler. Another C/C++ compiler for Windows that you may want to check out is the free compiler from Digital Mars. For more information, see http://www.digitalmars.com/
Pascal. If you're interested in Pascal, FreePascal, a Borland-compatible Pascal for Windows, is available from http://www.freepascal.org/
Intel compiler for Linux. If you are running Linux on Intel hardware, rather than Windows, you could run GCC just like any other Unix user. However, you should also know that Intel is now making its Intel Fortran 7.0 Compiler for Linux available for non-commercial use at no change. See http://developer.intel.com/software/products/compilers/flin/noncom.htm
This appears to be a very fast compiler, based on benchmarks shown at http://www.polyhedron.co.uk/compare/linux/f77bench_p4.html . Intel also makes its C++ 7.0 Compiler for Linux available for noncommercial use at no charge. See http://www.intel.com/software/products/compilers/clin/noncom.htm
In addition to free compilers, users are often interested in free or inexpensive numerical libraries. Some resources you should know about include:
Please note that while the Numerical Recipes books are available for free online, you will still need to purchase a license to use the routines contained in the books (a single screen license for a PC running Windows or Linux, or a single screen license for a Mac, costs $65).