Author: Mark Taylor
Date: 09:33:40 02/03/00
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Here's what I think... 1. Improvements in algorithm design far outweigh the marginal increases from good optimisation vs average/no optimisation. Look at the speed/strength differences between the strong & weaker programs - its measured in orders of magnitute (both speed NPS & ELO strength) whereas optimisation gives you 10-20%. 2. Microsoft increasingly seem to have built-in obsolescance in their products - file formats change with every release, applications stop working with new releases of OS. I have access to VC++ v6 enterprise & it ***stopped working after I moved from win95 to win98*** (it crashes while loading). You can find yourself locked into a costly cycle of upgrading whenever Microsoft need more profits. 3. If you are planning to make your program work with Winboard you don't need GUI development features, only a "console" or "DOS" interface. 4. I personally find the interface of VC++ v6 difficult to use - I prefer an old fashioned command-ine compiler. Taking the above into account, I am currently looking at DJGPP which is a windows/dos/pc port of the excellent (free!) GNU C++ compiler & associated development tools. My initial reaction is that they are very good & I would recommend them to anybody. for details see http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/ You could also consider doing your development on Linux! If you really think you need VC++, go for the cheapest option, then when your chess algorithm is so good you cannot improve it without enormous effort, then upgrade to the professional edition to gain the extra 20%. Beware though that the cheaper versions VC++ can not produce "console/DOS" executables, which are needed for Winboard. Mark.
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