For the Intel compiler experts

[Bo Persson]

I am going to buy the latest Intel C++ compiler, but I would like to know what tool set I need to purchase.

They have "Parallel Studio" and "C++ composer" and all sorts of different collections of things.

I already have the high-end MS compiler and so I have a nice IDE and debugger already. But I would like to be able to produce the fastest possible binaries and so I need to know what is the minimum tool set I need to purchase to accomplish this goal.

Besides performance, I am also sick and tired of having to convert C99 programs to C89 in order to be able to compile them.

You are not going to get far with MS debugger and Intel compiler. You need a debugger that is compatible with the compiler's output. I simply use the intel C++ compiler + debugger package on all of my linux boxes. And you can get that for nothing. For windows I am not sure, but you do want both the compiler and debugger. Which might mean your IDE will present some issues.

Quote from:
http://software.intel.com/en-us/article ... -visual-c/

Debugging Capability and the Intel Parallel Debugger Extension

The Intel C++ Compiler is fully source- and binary- (native code only) compatible with Visual C++ 2005, Visual C++ 2008 and Visual C++ 2010 compiler when the option “/Qvc8”, “/Qvc9” or "/Qvc10" is specified. Binaries built with the Intel C++ Compiler can be debugged from within the Microsoft Visual Studio IDE.

It’s possible to build only several files or build several projects with the Intel C++ Compiler.

Intel Parallel Debugger Extension is a plug-in to Visual Studio Debugger. It provides great functionalities for debugging parallel programs. Please see the Intel(R) Parallel Debugger Extension article for detail information.

Remember, as I said, I was speaking from a unix standpoint. Don't run windows at all...

The Intel compiler is a chameleon, it behaves like g++ on Linux and like VC++ on Windows. Including compiler options and binary format.