On 2005-07-03,
sandwich_eater@hotmail.com <sandwich_eater@hotmail.com> wrote:[color=blue]
> I am looking for a Linux distribution and a standard C++ compiler
> (IDE not too important) that can also compile to Win32, to run on my
> Dell dimension 2400...[/color]
Forget about it. Instead, write mostly portable code, and keep the
non-portable parts isolated in small modules, and use compile-time
tests (ifdef for example) to deal with it.
[color=blue]
> installing a USB 2 card. I am wondering if it is better to get a
> new machine and dedicate it to Linux and C++ development and deal
> with cross platform issues later,[/color]
Yes, that works fine, more or less. As long as you mostly stick to
standard code, and understand when you are using operating system
functionality, as opposed to standard C++, the issues should be easy
to address when they come up. Portability may also affect certain
decisions you make -- for example, if you want to code portably, you
can't make your code tightly coupled with non-portable libraries. So
you'd choose portable over non-portable libraries (e.g. MFC is a
non-starter. So is Motif.)
[color=blue]
> alternatively use something like Borland C++ on Windows.[/color]
If you like. Again, this shouldn't be too hard if you code with
portability in mind in the first place.
Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/ 
