Program Design — Choosing a Computer Language (Compiler) - China DOS Union Forum

Choosing a suitable programming language and compiler is quite important for making games. If halfway through making a game you discover that this language is inconvenient for programming or the compiler is bad, wouldn’t that be heartbreaking. So before making a game, you must first choose your programming language and compiler well.

　　As someone in the same field, of course I should recommend the best languages and compilers to you. Please see the table below:

　 Language Compiler Advantages Disadvantages
DOS C/C++ Borland C/C++ Quite widespread, easy to learn. Programming is simple, with fewer errors. 16-bit programs, slow speed, and a 640k conventional memory limit.
HIGH C/C++ Fast speed, good performance. Hard to learn, too specialized.
Microsoft C/C++ 　 16-bit programs, speed is not very fast, has a 640k conventional memory limit. Too specialized.
DJGPP+Allegro Fast speed, rich multimedia game libraries, very suitable for making games. Not easy to learn, little help available. Not as fast as Watcom C/C++.
Watcom C/C++ Highest speed, excellent performance. Rather specialized, not easy to learn.
Windows9x Basic Visual Basic Easy to learn, convenient for programming. Too slow.……
C/C++ Borland C/C++ 　　
Borland C++ Builder 　　
Visual C++ 　　
Microsoft C/C++ 　　
Watcom C/C++ 　　
Pascal Borland Pascal 　　
Borland Delphi 　　
Game Factory 　　

Its representative works are as follows:

Borland C/C++ for DOS "The Legend of Sword and Fairy"
DJGPP+Allegro "Quake" DOS version (the only really famous one)
Watcom C/C++ for DOS "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Super Space-Time Hero Legends", "Jin Yong's Heroes", "Red Alert", "Tomb Raider"—so many! And there’s a whole bunch more!
Visual Basic "The Legend of Sword and Fairy — 98 Tender Version" (I would never have guessed)
Borland C++ builder "Storm Riders: Tian Xia Hui"
　　You can see that under DOS, Watcom C/C++ can be said to rule the world. Under Windows9x, you can just pick any one of these C/C++ tools. But I really never expected that "The Legend of Sword and Fairy — 98 Tender Version" was "actually" written in Visual Basic. That was truly unexpected.

　　We can also see that most games are written in C/C++. This may already have become a fact people have no choice but to admit; at least for now, "if you want to write a good game, you have to use C++."

　　Friends writing games under DOS had better look for some programming materials related to the VESA display standard and the SB16 sound card. In this way, Windows’ greatest advantage—its hardware independence—disappears. You can fully enjoy the fun of programming under DOS, where you can directly control the hardware. That feeling is really terrific.

Floor1　Wengier	Posted 2003-05-05 00:00
系统支持　Posts 10,521　Credits 27,736
Choosing a suitable programming language and compiler is quite important for making games. If halfway through making a game you discover that this language is inconvenient for programming or the compiler is bad, wouldn’t that be heartbreaking. So before making a game, you must first choose your programming language and compiler well. 　　As someone in the same field, of course I should recommend the best languages and compilers to you. Please see the table below: 　 Language Compiler Advantages Disadvantages DOS C/C++ Borland C/C++ Quite widespread, easy to learn. Programming is simple, with fewer errors. 16-bit programs, slow speed, and a 640k conventional memory limit. HIGH C/C++ Fast speed, good performance. Hard to learn, too specialized. Microsoft C/C++ 　 16-bit programs, speed is not very fast, has a 640k conventional memory limit. Too specialized. DJGPP+Allegro Fast speed, rich multimedia game libraries, very suitable for making games. Not easy to learn, little help available. Not as fast as Watcom C/C++. Watcom C/C++ Highest speed, excellent performance. Rather specialized, not easy to learn. Windows9x Basic Visual Basic Easy to learn, convenient for programming. Too slow.…… C/C++ Borland C/C++ 　　 Borland C++ Builder 　　 Visual C++ 　　 Microsoft C/C++ 　　 Watcom C/C++ 　　 Pascal Borland Pascal 　　 Borland Delphi 　　 Game Factory 　　 Its representative works are as follows: Borland C/C++ for DOS "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" DJGPP+Allegro "Quake" DOS version (the only really famous one) Watcom C/C++ for DOS "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Super Space-Time Hero Legends", "Jin Yong's Heroes", "Red Alert", "Tomb Raider"—so many! And there’s a whole bunch more! Visual Basic "The Legend of Sword and Fairy — 98 Tender Version" (I would never have guessed) Borland C++ builder "Storm Riders: Tian Xia Hui" 　　You can see that under DOS, Watcom C/C++ can be said to rule the world. Under Windows9x, you can just pick any one of these C/C++ tools. But I really never expected that "The Legend of Sword and Fairy — 98 Tender Version" was "actually" written in Visual Basic. That was truly unexpected. 　　We can also see that most games are written in C/C++. This may already have become a fact people have no choice but to admit; at least for now, "if you want to write a good game, you have to use C++." 　　Friends writing games under DOS had better look for some programming materials related to the VESA display standard and the SB16 sound card. In this way, Windows’ greatest advantage—its hardware independence—disappears. You can fully enjoy the fun of programming under DOS, where you can directly control the hardware. That feeling is really terrific.