> > > My experience is that Delphi is
> > > slightly faster than VC++ (but
> > > comparable to Borland C++, which
> > > uses the same compiler anyway),

> > I thought VC++ uses an MS compiler
> > and that an Intel compiler was also
> > available.

> I thought that VC++ used the Intel
> compiler, maybe badged Microsoft. But
> I could be completely wrong.

> I had heard that the Intel compiler
> was massively fast compared to other
> C++ compilers of the x86 architecture
> (as long as you are using a genuine
> Intel chip).

> But I am really amazed at the speed
> of the Borland compiler. And I like
> the IDE much more than messing with
> message maps and so on.


As far as C++ goes, I like the Borland compiler. I've never personally tried MSVC++, but I hear it's a pain to use. My father used to use it. "Never again." I use C++ when I have to, ESPECIALLY for the speed, but my fav language is Java. The only thing I've decided one CAN'T do in Java is fast-paced games. (Puzzle games are fine - I wrote a Battleship game, too. But first-person shooters? Barely. Flight sims? I've never seen one...) I'm sure it's possible, but from my own ill-fated experience the JRE is too slow to run anything like a first-person shooter (although I've seen early-stage beta tests of those types of games...They lacked object collision so you could walk through the walls, and they looked much like the old Wolfenstein and Doom as far as graphics, but with a few evolutions of the technology, who knows?) As far as string parsing goes, I've had no trouble at all. On the other hand, my operations haven't been speed-dependant very often, either. Java is very good for Internet-based activities, though - I wrote a web server with it once, although a basic one. Only wanted to see if I could do it, and I was too lazy to sit down and learn the format of all the commands the browser gives the server.
I am currently in the process of writing a Java-based RPG-type game. I'm not too familiar with graphics in ANY language, so this is text-based (known as a MUD, or Multi User Dimension, or Multi User Dungeon depending on the game). As the type of game suggests, it's like EverQuest - you play it online with other humans (although there are NPCs [non-player characters, or AI players] here and there). The layout is much like the Wheel of Time MUD (http://www.wotmud.org) only, set in a Star Wars universe and written in Java instead of C++. (Or whatever they used.... I thought it was C++...)

DJGPP is good, but the download size was like 1.2GB, unless I followed the wrong link. Took me like 4 days to download non-stop :) 'Course, I'm on dialup. :|
That sucker went STRAIGHT to a CD! >=)

Anyways, dunno if I was any help to anyone, but it's always fun to talk about programming. :)