i need some direction for a decent free c#/c++compiler...please advise.

thnx for the direction dave, hehe...take care...ゃー.

or just page back a page or so in this very forum.

Your question comes up and is answered in some detail at least once a week. In fact it happens so often it gets kinda tiring...

Here is some old rehash of mine ...

I like C# in Windows Applications, and find the flow of the code much easier to follow than that of the corresponding C++ code . I think of it as Delphi in a classy C++ coat, it has the same chief designer in common. You can put the code for the form design right inside the main code, so everything is in a single file.

To get a taste of what the code looks like, check the very simple csharp code snippets at http://www.daniweb.com/code/code-csharp.html

Some code and tutorials are found on:
http://www.csharpfriends.com/
or:
http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/language.asp

There is a lot of help at Microsoft (.NET), google for it!

Above all, practice, practice, practice! For a nice free setup to get your C# experience going, you need to download the IDE called SharpDevelop_1.0.3.1761_Setup.exe from:
http://www.icsharpcode.net/opensource/sd/

and the .NET Framework Version 1.1 Redistributable Package called dotnetfx.exe from (watch any wordwrap here!):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=262D25E3-F589-4842-8157-034D1E7CF3A3&displaylang=en

Unless you have .Net FX 1.1 already installed, install the dotnetfx first followed by the IDE. Answer a few questions, and you are ready to code in C#. Start your projects (called Combines) and select the right application type (Win or Con). Windows Applications allow for the use of the Form Builder similar to wxDev-Cpp, Delphi or VB. There is a little tab near the bottom called Design, click on that to bring up the Form Builder. Now you can create your Window forms, buttons, fileDialogs, labels and other components with ease.

If you discover that you like C#, and you have lots of space on your hard drive, go and get Visual C# .NET 2003 from Microsoft. It sells for less than $100. The package has lots of good stuff. The IDE has interactive help and there is a nice debugger.

There is one caveat, when you hand your programs to friends, they need the .NET Framework Redistributable Package installed on their computers too! Easy to do!

As for C++, the Dev-C++ IDE using G++/GCC is pretty good and doesn't smear your disk, you can get it at:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/dev-cpp/

Hope that will help you!

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