{"slug": "visual-cplusplus", "name": "Visual C++", "category": "dev-libs", "category_name": "Libraries and frameworks", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 7, "warners": 1, "score": 3.278, "rising": -1.31, "first": "2025-11-14", "latest": "2026-07-25", "why": "I used Visual C in the early 90s and it was a dream compared to vi and whatever C compiler the various unices I was using had.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 2, "compare": 0, "warn": 2}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 3, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I used Visual C in the early 90s and it was a dream compared to vi and whatever C compiler the various unices I was using had.", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/features/cplusplus/", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Visual C++"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 773157056, "item_id": 48322316, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48322316", "by": "jbverschoor", "date": "2026-05-29", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Man, I love the Visual C++ and Visual J++ interface so much.", "excerpt": "Man, I love the Visual C++ and Visual J++ interface so much. It was so fast and super clear.", "context": "", "use_case": "C++ IDE", "switched_from": "", "story": "Let's compile Quake like it's 1997"}, {"id": 769941441, "item_id": 48121340, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48121340", "by": "asimeqi", "date": "2026-05-13", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to Visual C++", "excerpt": "VB the ide was really good but VB the language was not. In particular it didn't support object orientation in any sensible way. While I am not crazy about object orientation in general, I think it is indispensable for UI development. I tried writing an application in Visual Basic. It was quick to start but the 5th time I had to copy the same code in yet another module, I switched to Visual C++. And anytime you needed", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "Visual Basic", "story": "What if there was no BASIC in EndBASIC? \u2013 by Julio Merino"}, {"id": 768614752, "item_id": 48038422, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48038422", "by": "robotresearcher", "date": "2026-05-06", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Visual C++ used to come with 14 inches of decent books.", "excerpt": "We used to document things. Apple had a series of beautiful books documenting \u2018Inside Macintosh\u2019. Visual C++ used to come with 14 inches of decent books. Then books gave way to the web and there was no longer a publishing deadline or copy editor and we just kinda stopped caring. The users still cared, but many producers stopped. We had an art and we gave it up. Not completely, but substantially.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Computer Use Is 45x More Expensive Than Structured APIs"}, {"id": 751077648, "item_id": 46942353, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46942353", "by": "dajt", "date": "2026-02-08", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I used Visual C in the early 90s and it was a dream compared to vi and whatever C compiler the various unices I was using had.", "excerpt": "I used Visual C in the early 90s and it was a dream compared to vi and whatever C compiler the various unices I was using had.", "context": "", "use_case": "C development", "switched_from": "", "story": "Let's compile Quake like it's 1997"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 750584704, "item_id": 46911544, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46911544", "by": "pjmlp", "date": "2026-02-06", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Microsoft is in no rush to add anything else.", "excerpt": "On the contrary, GNU Compiler Collection is written in C++ and happens to have C as one of the supported fronteds, having moved away from C in 2008. LLVM is written in C++, also supports multiple language frontends, one of them happens to be C. Visual C++, also written in C++, happens to still compile some form of C, and after adding some C11 and C17 support (a few items are still missing in 2026), Microsoft is in no", "context": "", "use_case": "C compilation", "switched_from": "", "story": "C Isn't a Language"}, {"id": 734956016, "item_id": 45934751, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45934751", "by": "LexiMax", "date": "2025-11-14", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Microsoft has gutted their Visual C++ team, which has significantly slowed the implementation pace of new features and fixing bugs", "excerpt": "> The C++ language has evolved quickly, with a release every three years or so. There was a revival of C++ starting with C++11 and ending around the era of C++17. It was, frankly, great. However, a few things happened around and since C++20 that has caused the language to backslide. First, it seems like corporate support for C++ has dropped significantly. Apple, having successfully replaced GCC with Clang for their o", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Rust in Android: move fast and fix things"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["c++ ide", "c development", "c compilation"], "compared": [{"slug": "visual-basic", "name": "Visual Basic", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49032095", "title": "The PImpl idiom and the C++26 std:indirect type", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48318522", "title": "Let's compile Quake like it's 1997", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48074226", "title": "What if there was no BASIC in EndBASIC? \u2013 by Julio Merino", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48024859", "title": "Computer Use Is 45x More Expensive Than Structured APIs", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46936274", "title": "Let's compile Quake like it's 1997", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46918612", "title": "OpenCiv3: Open-source, cross-platform reimagining of Civilization III", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"warn": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"warn": 1, "neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 3}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 784740880, "item_id": 49046305, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49046305", "by": "pjmlp", "date": "2026-07-25", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I only care about VC++ for hobby coding", "excerpt": "I give you that Intelisense is broken as always, and the best experience appears to be with Clion, but I can live with it. Best experience is VC++ with MSBuild, cmake/ninja work great with latest clang however import std support is not yet enabled by default in CMake. I only care about VC++ for hobby coding, hence using modules. See for example, https://github.com/pjmlp/RaytracingWeekend-CPP", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "The PImpl idiom and the C++26 std:indirect type"}, {"id": 773157056, "item_id": 48322316, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48322316", "by": "jbverschoor", "date": "2026-05-29", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Man, I love the Visual C++ and Visual J++ interface so much.", "excerpt": "Man, I love the Visual C++ and Visual J++ interface so much. It was so fast and super clear.", "context": "", "use_case": "C++ IDE", "switched_from": "", "story": "Let's compile Quake like it's 1997"}, {"id": 769941441, "item_id": 48121340, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48121340", "by": "asimeqi", "date": "2026-05-13", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to Visual C++", "excerpt": "VB the ide was really good but VB the language was not. In particular it didn't support object orientation in any sensible way. While I am not crazy about object orientation in general, I think it is indispensable for UI development. I tried writing an application in Visual Basic. It was quick to start but the 5th time I had to copy the same code in yet another module, I switched to Visual C++. And anytime you needed", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "Visual Basic", "story": "What if there was no BASIC in EndBASIC? \u2013 by Julio Merino"}, {"id": 768614752, "item_id": 48038422, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48038422", "by": "robotresearcher", "date": "2026-05-06", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Visual C++ used to come with 14 inches of decent books.", "excerpt": "We used to document things. Apple had a series of beautiful books documenting \u2018Inside Macintosh\u2019. Visual C++ used to come with 14 inches of decent books. Then books gave way to the web and there was no longer a publishing deadline or copy editor and we just kinda stopped caring. The users still cared, but many producers stopped. We had an art and we gave it up. Not completely, but substantially.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Computer Use Is 45x More Expensive Than Structured APIs"}, {"id": 751077648, "item_id": 46942353, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46942353", "by": "dajt", "date": "2026-02-08", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I used Visual C in the early 90s and it was a dream compared to vi and whatever C compiler the various unices I was using had.", "excerpt": "I used Visual C in the early 90s and it was a dream compared to vi and whatever C compiler the various unices I was using had.", "context": "", "use_case": "C development", "switched_from": "", "story": "Let's compile Quake like it's 1997"}, {"id": 750945441, "item_id": 46934090, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46934090", "by": "direwolf20", "date": "2026-02-08", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "For decades, Microsoft only made Visual C++ for Windows", "excerpt": "For decades, Microsoft only made Visual C++ for Windows, and alternatives like DJGPP weren't very good. This isn't unreasonable, it's just how programming works when you target a platform. Visual C++ relies on Windows because it's a Windows program, and Xcode is written for MacOS, not for Java or Electron. What is stopping you from writing an open source alternative to Xcode that runs on Linux?", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "OpenCiv3: Open-source, cross-platform reimagining of Civilization III"}, {"id": 750584704, "item_id": 46911544, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46911544", "by": "pjmlp", "date": "2026-02-06", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Microsoft is in no rush to add anything else.", "excerpt": "On the contrary, GNU Compiler Collection is written in C++ and happens to have C as one of the supported fronteds, having moved away from C in 2008. LLVM is written in C++, also supports multiple language frontends, one of them happens to be C. Visual C++, also written in C++, happens to still compile some form of C, and after adding some C11 and C17 support (a few items are still missing in 2026), Microsoft is in no", "context": "", "use_case": "C compilation", "switched_from": "", "story": "C Isn't a Language"}, {"id": 734956016, "item_id": 45934751, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45934751", "by": "LexiMax", "date": "2025-11-14", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "Microsoft has gutted their Visual C++ team, which has significantly slowed the implementation pace of new features and fixing bugs", "excerpt": "> The C++ language has evolved quickly, with a release every three years or so. There was a revival of C++ starting with C++11 and ending around the era of C++17. It was, frankly, great. However, a few things happened around and since C++20 that has caused the language to backslide. First, it seems like corporate support for C++ has dropped significantly. Apple, having successfully replaced GCC with Clang for their o", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Rust in Android: move fast and fix things"}]}