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[Average Software]

I just abandoned IDEs altogether.  I do most of my work on Linux now, with vim and a makefile. 

Replace "Linux" with "Mac" and "vim" with "TextWrangler" and this describes me. Although when starting a new project I use shell scripts instead of makefiles, because they're a lot easier to write. I only switch to makefiles when the project gets big enough.

I use a shell script to generate my makefile, since I can't for the life of me figure out to use the GNU autotools.

The big C++0x thing that everyone seems to ignoring are rvalue references.  These things are huge.  They allow 'pass by move,' which in some studies I've seen improves the performance of certain STL containers and algorithms by something like 90%.  The best part is that you won't need to change any of your code to get the performance benefits, just recompile against the C++0x standard library and you're good.

What pass by move does is it allows temporary objects to have their contents 'stolen' rather than copied.  Consider something like this:

Code:

class LinkedList
{
public:
    LinkedList();
    LinkedList(const LinkedList &copy); // Copy constructor.
    LinkedList(LinkedList &&copy); // Move constructor **NEW**
    ~LinkedList();
    LinkedList &operator = (const LinkedList &rhs); // Copy assignment.
    LinkedList &operator = (LinkedList &&rhs); // Move assignment **NEW**

private:
    struct Node
    {
        int data;
        Node *next;
    } *head;
};

LinkedList::LinkedList(const LinkedList &copy)
{
    // Usual deep copy.
}

LinkedList::LinkedList(LinkedList &&copy)
{
    // Steal the linked list from the other object.
    head = copy.head;
    // Make the original object safe to delete.
    copy.head = nullptr; // C++0x null pointer constant, NOT a macro.
}

LinkedList &LinkedList::operator = (const LinkedList &rhs)
{
   // Usual stuff, clean up current data, deep copy rhs data.
   return *this;
}

LinkedList &LinkedList::operator = (LinkedList &&rhs)
{
    // Clean up this object (not shown), then steal the list from the rhs.
    head = rhs.head;
    // Make rhs safe to delete.
    rhs.head = nullptr; // C++0x null pointer constant, NOT a macro.

    return *this;
}

Temporary objects bind to rvalue references before lvalue ones, so now if you return something like a vector of 1000 strings from a function, instead of being copied, it will moved into its destination.  The move process is generally constant time and extremely fast.

This also allows you to create objects that only have move semantics, by disabling the copy functions and only providing move functions.  This is something that I've wanted for a long time, but I haven't been willing to abuse auto_ptr to get it.

[Glaiel-Gamer]

]
The big C++0x thing that everyone seems to ignoring are rvalue references.

in my advanced c/++ class the professor mentions this like every day

[increpare]

this article contains some mild c++0x amusements, for those who haven't read it (not totally high-quality, but gave me a chuckle or two).

actually this is funnier, though c++ rather than c++0x related.

[Jason Bakker]

XCode is nicer in general, although the lack of tabbed source files still bites. Grar!

I like Xcode because it doesn't have tabs.

The tabs drive me nuts in VC++/Dev-C++/Code::Blocks because it seems like I only have two options:

No tabs at all.

Open a new tab every damn time I look at a new file.

What is it with IDEs doing this?  Do people actually want that?  Surely I'm not the only person that wants a tab when I ask for it, and only when I ask for it, just like a web browser.

Or have I just been overlooking that option for years?

Yeah, tabs could definitely be smarter. I generally have to clean up my tabs (just close everything and start again) every couple of hours or so But at least for me it's better having them than not.

[BlueSweatshirt]

XCode is nicer in general, although the lack of tabbed source files still bites. Grar!

I like Xcode because it doesn't have tabs.

The tabs drive me nuts in VC++/Dev-C++/Code::Blocks because it seems like I only have two options:

No tabs at all.

Open a new tab every damn time I look at a new file.

What is it with IDEs doing this?  Do people actually want that?  Surely I'm not the only person that wants a tab when I ask for it, and only when I ask for it, just like a web browser.

Or have I just been overlooking that option for years?

Yeah, tabs could definitely be smarter. I generally have to clean up my tabs (just close everything and start again) every couple of hours or so But at least for me it's better having them than not.

If I could find out a keystroke to "navigate one tab let/right" or "move to first/last tab", even "move to last selected tab"(and from there they would switch back and fourth, rather than keeping a history of tabs) my life would be so much easier, and I would actually like using tabs.

[Ivan]

command + option + left or right arrow

[BlueSweatshirt]

command + option + left or right arrow

If only my Windows PC + Visual Studio combination supported Mac style keyboard shortcuts. 

I've been working on file-heavy projects lately, and it's getting annoying.(using Visual Studio, since MFC can make a lot of the GUI work much, much easier.)

[EDIT]
Although, after taking a look through some shortcuts here I found out how to bring up a nifty dialog to switch tabs in VS(Ctrl+Tab)

[Ravine]

often on Windows

[Ctrl + Tab] to move forward in your tabs
[Ctrl + Shift + Tab] to move "backward"
[Ctrl + F4] close selected tab

(works in most "tabbed apps" i used. Just tested in Firefox, still works) 

[Klaim]

Indeed, just know your tools gentlemen.

[Ann Ishman]

XCode is nicer in general, although the lack of tabbed source files still bites. Grar!

I like Xcode because it doesn't have tabs.

The tabs drive me nuts in VC++/Dev-C++/Code::Blocks because it seems like I only have two options:

No tabs at all.

Open a new tab every damn time I look at a new file.

What is it with IDEs doing this?  Do people actually want that?  Surely I'm not the only person that wants a tab when I ask for it, and only when I ask for it, just like a web browser.

Or have I just been overlooking that option for years?

Yeah, tabs could definitely be smarter. I generally have to clean up my tabs (just close everything and start again) every couple of hours or so But at least for me it's better having them than not.

Tools > Options > Environment > Documents > [X] Reuse current document window, if saved

At least in Visual Studio 2008. Not sure about other IDEs/versions. I would think a similar option is somewhere in the scary dark corners of the app settings. I will admit not having a new tab button is mildly annoying, but hitting space on the active document if it has not been edited to get a couple tabs open to play with is minor inconvenience.

[Glaiel-Gamer]

Maybe it's just cause I'm a mac person, but I've never really liked tabs that much. I rarely use them when browsing, I hate adobe products forcing all the documents into tabs, I like xcode's lack of tabs.

OSX handles multiple windows very nicely with expose and junk and I've always found that a lot nicer than multiple tabs in one window.

[Martin 2BAM]

I agree, besides, the tab adding algorithm makes it so I can never find the file I'm looking for in the tabs (Except when I have a low file count)  .

I don't really mind tabs, they're just there and I usually don't use them.

[Kekskiller]

I like tabs. Even if it's just used for some kind of simplistic overview.

[Tycho Brahe]

I find tabs both useful and annoying. Useful in that I don't have to manage multiple windows, but annoying in the way the programs I use organise them.

[Jason Bakker]

Tools > Options > Environment > Documents > [X] Reuse current document window, if saved

At least in Visual Studio 2008. Not sure about other IDEs/versions. I would think a similar option is somewhere in the scary dark corners of the app settings. I will admit not having a new tab button is mildly annoying, but hitting space on the active document if it has not been edited to get a couple tabs open to play with is minor inconvenience.

A bit less minor if you're using source control, unless you're talking abut pressing space, opening the new tab, tabbing BACK to the previous tab to undo your space and saving that, then tabbing forward again to get to the tab you wanted to get to in the first place?

Thanks for the info though, I'm only using 2005 at the moment, but I'll file that option away for future reference when I upgrade...

[Ann Ishman]

Source Control doesn't complicate things all that much. After enabling that option:

• Starting with a blank editor, project open with no tabs, open any old file and make a meaningless change to the file (checking it out first if applicable) such as hitting space or adding an empty comment - editing the file.
• Open any other random file while the edited file is the active tab which will give you two tabs.
• Go back to the edited file tab and repeat the previous step opening different files until you have as many tabs as you like (I like 6 or so).
• Once you have as many tabs open as you like go back to the edited file and undo your check out. (This last step isn't really necessary unless trivial differences bother you in your version history. The better control systems will usually not even bother adding the file if only a space has been added anyway.)

Luckily VS will leave the tabs open next time you open the project so I find myself doing this only with new projects or the odd time I close a tab out of habit. Oddly enough the length of this explanation makes it seem much more complicated than it really is. Once you get it, doing the steps above takes all of 5 seconds to complete.

[artanis]

Tools > Options > Environment > Documents > [X] Reuse current document window, if saved

At least in Visual Studio 2008. Not sure about other IDEs/versions. I would think a similar option is somewhere in the scary dark corners of the app settings. I will admit not having a new tab button is mildly annoying, but hitting space on the active document if it has not been edited to get a couple tabs open to play with is minor inconvenience.

Thanks for the info though, I'm only using 2005 at the moment, but I'll file that option away for future reference when I upgrade...

The same option exists in VS 2005.