Why does Pelles IDE have such a low profile on the web? /Introducing myself

[Tom]

Indeed...
I became acquainted with Pelles work by simply googling "C ide for windows".
Visual studio is kinda nice for C++ and such work in windows side, but its C-support has always been something of a bastard child.

Pelles C seems to be filling a lovely niche for me, when it comes to using pure C ( unlike the god-knows what subset enforced by visual studio ) in conjunction with learning more about x86/64 assembly.

It's light-weight, a bit quirky, but simple, non-bloated, rather simple to use and free.
What's there not to like?

I think the current situation is a matter of timing, kinda....
These days, most programmers start and end at highest level languages, never bothering to stop at C, let alone assembly, especially in windows side.

The niche is always alive and well, but in the grand scheme of things, IDE like this has a hard time attracting mainstream appeal.
I think the whole compiler/ide/assembler package is amazing for what it is, but try explaining it to a "modern" programmer. 

Overall, a lovely IDE for windows side.
It's currently my primary lower-than-c++ developing environment.

[Arturo Mascorro García]

I found the next reference to Pelles C compiler in Book:

Beginning C, From Beginner to Pro 6th ed, Apress 2020
ISBN 978-1-4842-5975-7e-ISBN 978-1-4842-5976-4
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-5976-4
© German Gonzalez-Morris and Ivor Horton 2020

What You Need to Use This Book
"To use this book, you’ll need a computer with a C compiler and library installed, so you can execute the examples, and a program text editor for preparing your source code files. The compiler you use should provide good support for the current international standard for the C language, C17 (ISO/IEC 9899:2018), which is a bug fix version for C11, commonly referred to as C17 or C18. You’ll also need an editor for creating and modifying your code. You can use any plain text editor such as Notepad or vi to create your source program files. However, you’ll get along better if your editor is designed for editing C code.

I can suggest two sources for a suitable C compiler, both of which are freeware:
The GNU C compiler, GCC, is available from www.gnu.org and supports a variety of operating system environments.

The Pelles C compiler for Microsoft Windows is downloadable from www.smorgasbordet.com/pellesc/ and includes an excellent integrated development environment (IDE)."

...Long life to Pelles C!

Merry christmas

[1e9t8m29]

Today it's mostly about GNU and LLVM, not only Pelles C but other compilers of the past, DMC, Watcom,... all faded into oblivion. Pelles C is better as it could keep up with the latest standards. DMC, Watcom,... are way too outdated.

The problems with Pelles C is most libraries out there doesn't support it (there is no ifdef for Pelles C at all!). Pelles C also too different to GNU and LLVM and even different from MSVC. Believe me or not, I downloaded the code for MSVC and I expected it should work with Pelles C then it turns out it doesn't work. LLVM success because it was developed a way it could serve as the drop-in replacement for GCC. Clang and GCC are mostly compatible. Only after Clang gains enough support to stand against GCC it started to introduce incompatible to GCC changes (it own extensions, different designs,...).

To my observation, the header name on Pelles C is sometimes different than GCC (OpenGL header come to mind), the way Pelles C define Win32 also different. The __WIN32__ macro of MinGW GCC is not defined on Pelles C. Either does __WIN64__ (on Pelles C it's _WIN64 isn't it?). This alone drags in so many problems.

[frankie]

The problems with Pelles C is most libraries out there doesn't support it (there is no ifdef for Pelles C at all!). Pelles C also too different to GNU and LLVM and even different from MSVC. Believe me or not, I downloaded the code for MSVC and I expected it should work with Pelles C then it turns out it doesn't work. LLVM success because it was developed a way it could serve as the drop-in replacement for GCC. Clang and GCC are mostly compatible. Only after Clang gains enough support to stand against GCC it started to introduce incompatible to GCC changes (it own extensions, different designs,...).

To my observation, the header name on Pelles C is sometimes different than GCC (OpenGL header come to mind), the way Pelles C define Win32 also different. The __WIN32__ macro of MinGW GCC is not defined on Pelles C. Either does __WIN64__ (on Pelles C it's _WIN64 isn't it?). This alone drags in so many problems.

Yes you're right, but the point is that MSVC and GCC have defined their standards (both are famous to be not fully compliant to C standards), while PellesC has as main goal the strict adherence to the C standards.
MSVC programs are absolutely deviated from standards so it is normal that you need to adapt them.
I can't say if this is good as "commercial" strategy (withstanding that PellesC is completely free for personal or commercial use), but to use it you have to code in compliant C even when MS extensions are on...

[John Z]

The problems with Pelles C is most libraries out there doesn't support it (there is no ifdef for Pelles C at all!).

I think you put the finger on the problem right here.  But think of it in reverse.  If all compilers were compliant to the standard you would not need any ifdef for a compiler name, they all would work. 

C was imagined to be a true write once programming language.  It fails at that because of deviations from the standard in the implementations thus requiring all these exceptions partially identified by ifdef statements.  Same thing that happened in the browser wars. look how many years web developers had to battle/accomodate Micro$soft internet explorer deviations....

IMO Pelle has taken the right path and with the right goal; strict adherence to the C standards. 
 
 
John Z

[LyleJensen]

Hello,


From my point of view I ask the question above because it took a lot of seeking and searching on the web to find a mention and recommend for Pelles C.


There are numerous sites listing and recommending IDEs, big and small – and even on most of the ‘top 50’ type sites for IDEs there is no mention of Pelles C. I eventually found you here only because of an obscure mention in a comment by someone on a question about lightweight IDEs – so obscure that I can’t relocate it! I believe I found PC after I found out that Eclipse and similar are written in Java, and clunky and bug ridden by the fact of that; so I started looking for a lightweight IDE written in C. (The Wikipedia page covering IDEs for C/C++ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_integrated_development_environments#C/C++  has a '?' against 'Written in' for the language Pelles C is written in).


Perhaps it is not important that Pelles C is more known in the IDE field?
 
Anyway, I am glad I found  Pelles C to try, and I look forward to using it at the start of my journey with learning C programming.
 
[From 1985-87 I was a COBOL programmer for a multinational – but then moved into systems analysis, feasibility studies and quality assurance for project/feasibility studies  in IT. I only moved away from programming for the reason that the career route was limited for programmers in those days; the alternative I chose was a fast track to higher paid positions].
 
A part of me has always regretted the move from the thoroughness and detail to the more abstract overview of things. So in my retirement years I want to go back and learn about programming in a more thorough way].
 
Thank you for Pelles C, and for this forum.

I agree that Pelles C may not be as well-known as some of the other IDEs out there, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is any less useful or powerful. In fact, sometimes the lesser-known tools can be hidden gems, and it sounds like that may be the case for you with Pelles C.