Folks, this is well worth a look see if you aren’t using this already:
http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/express/visualc/default.aspx .
This link points to the C++ compiler part of Visual Studio 2005 (aka “Whidbey”). You can download the beta for free. I’m using Whidbey in-anger on a daily basis under Windows x64 (this link is for the 32 bit version). I’ve been porting 3.5 million lines of C++ (some of it dating back to Win 16) and have had a good time with this build. It is by far the best C++ compiler Microsoft has ever done. The level of ANSI standards compliance is stunning. Even if you’re just learning C++ you want this - the intellisense and new debugger features are to die for. Whidbey does to Visual Studio .NET 2003 (aka “Everett”) what the original Visual Studio .NET did to Visual Studio 6 (ye gods, aren’t you glad we left VS6 behind). In terms of significance you can think of it this way:
Visual Studio .NET -> 1.0
Visual Studio .NET 2003 -> 1.1
Visual Studio 2005 -> 2.0
Note: MS are dropping the “.NET” moniker from the VS name.