Two things I keep windows for - suggestions for linux replacements?

SoleSoul · 2009-12-21 21:56:19

Hi
I found myself working on Arch full time except for when I need two things:
1) C++ programming.
2) Doc files viewing.

I'll elaborate.
Although I don't like it, the tool I find best to program C++ in is *by far* Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2. The reason for that is it's "while typing" error checking which is superior in comparison to Eclipse'. It's the only tool I can program C++ in and if the algorithm is right the program will run on the first try! Not to mention it's good auto-completion and other nice management tools.

The .doc files problem is very annoying. I know I can install wine and I know I can use OpenOffice.Org.
I don't want to install wine and then Microsoft word viewer just for viewing or converting doc files to pdf. (Maybe it's because I don't want to admit that what linux has to offer doesn't compare with the Windows solutions.;)

I can't use OpenOffice because I learn computer engineering and our lecturers put any sign they can find among the greek letters and many other weird shapes so OpenOffice tend to choke in these situations. It's hard to understand an already complicated formula with blank squares instead of symbols.
I also don't want to use OpenOffice because converting doc files to pdf is the only use I'll have to it and it's really an overkill.

I don't say that these reasons are good enough but because of them I prefer to reboot and use the best tools I can have under Windows.

Do you know good tools for these tasks? a decent code editor with on the fly error checking or a doc to pdf converter?

Thank you!

karol · 2009-12-21 22:10:58

Both VS and Office are MS's flagship products in their respective categories, i.e. you have a snowball's chance in hell to find a FLOSS replacement for them.

Wrt to converting, there's a bunch of solutions, you have to check if they produce the correct output, let Google guide you http://www.doc2pdf.net/

Edit: I'm not a dev but I've heard many people like http://www.kdevelop.org/
http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/FlyMake
http://netbeans.org/features/cpp/index.html

Last edited by karol (2009-12-21 22:30:21)

Mikko777 · 2009-12-22 12:14:01

Try Qtcreator for C++, it seems to do all the things you need.

Also koffice is lighter and faster than openoffice and seems to do doc to pdf just fine.

Post back your experiences if you do find a replacement

chpln · 2009-12-22 12:56:51

I just wanted to second Emacs + FlyMake (+ CEDET and some other development tools, perhaps). While I don't write any C++, flymake is very fexible; I've found it reliable for C and Python, among others. I suspect adapting from a visual IDE to Vim or Emacs would be the greatest issue. I guarantee though, once you get used to them, you'll wonder how you ever used MSVS.

SoleSoul wrote:

I can't use OpenOffice because I learn computer engineering and our lecturers put any sign they can find among the greek letters and many other weird shapes so OpenOffice tend to choke in these situations. It's hard to understand an already complicated formula with blank squares instead of symbols. I also don't want to use OpenOffice because converting doc files to pdf is the only use I'll have to it and it's really an overkill.

I don't suppose your lecturers would be willing to provide the documents in an alternative (read: open) format?

jdarnold · 2009-12-22 13:41:19

I second the QtCreator plug - it really works well.

SoleSoul · 2009-12-24 17:11:33

Thank you for your answers!

@karol
"a snowball's chance in hell" never heard this phrase.. I love it!

karol wrote:

http://www.doc2pdf.net/

Not that, sorry. I know of plenty of sites which let you send them the file and send you back the pdf by mail. It's ok for emergency situations, not for everyday use. I have many files to handle.

karol wrote:

http://www.kdevelop.org/

It depends on KDE and not just on qt and I don't use kde.

karol wrote:

http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/FlyMake

I can't find C++ support. And anyway, if I use a text editor it would be vim. I have nothing against emacs, just never used it.

karol wrote:

http://netbeans.org/features/cpp/index.html

I used it once, wasn't that pleasant to work with. It felt sluggish. Anyway if more recommends it for C++ I may try this 550 MB solution. (along with java)
Thanks anyway

@Mikko777
I am trying QTcreator now. It look really good but along with that, it's very weird.
The design is sleek and efficient. It's on the fly error checking is ok.. Not as good as VC++'s. It checks syntax more than structure.
The weirdest thing is I couldn't find a mode or project type for programming a general C++ program. Can it manage only QT applications? I never use QT.

Mikko777 wrote:

Also koffice is lighter and faster than openoffice

It may be lighter for KDE environments.. here it's even bigger than OOo. 512 MB. Maybe if I could separate just the necessary converter... (or maybe take just the "word").

@chpln
From your post I understand that flymake supports C++. I may try it though as I posted above I could use vim if needed but emacs... If I have time I'll try emacs. Thanks.

@jdarnold

jdarnold wrote:

I second the QtCreator plug - it really works well.

What do you mean by "plug"?

Ronin-Sage · 2009-12-24 19:41:50

I was under the impression that OOo would have equal if not better Unicode support than MS Office, but maybe that's just me trying to say "hah! eat FLOSS, MS!".

But yeah, are you sure you have the proper packages installed for viewing the characters? Which ones in particular can't you view?

Side-note: You should try Go-OpenOffice. It's basically OOo, with some notable improvements(ex: reportedly faster start-up)

jelly · 2009-12-24 20:20:03

you can still use word 2007 with wine, it works flawless

Arch Linux

#1 2009-12-21 21:56:19

Two things I keep windows for - suggestions for linux replacements?

#2 2009-12-21 22:10:58

Re: Two things I keep windows for - suggestions for linux replacements?

#3 2009-12-22 12:14:01

Re: Two things I keep windows for - suggestions for linux replacements?

#4 2009-12-22 12:56:51

Re: Two things I keep windows for - suggestions for linux replacements?

#5 2009-12-22 13:41:19

Re: Two things I keep windows for - suggestions for linux replacements?

#6 2009-12-24 17:11:33

Re: Two things I keep windows for - suggestions for linux replacements?

#7 2009-12-24 19:41:50

Re: Two things I keep windows for - suggestions for linux replacements?

#8 2009-12-24 20:20:03

Re: Two things I keep windows for - suggestions for linux replacements?

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