The Visual C++ IDE/Compiler is the most commonly used tool for professional development for Windows. MFC/ATL, Developer Studio Macros, MSDN Library.... All the things that make professional development much easier than if you were using Dev-C++... Dev-C++ is used for minimal hobbyist development. Visual C++ is used for professional/industry-standard application development. As for Borland C++... whats the point when you have to distribute those huge runtime libraries just so people can run your programs? Thats why I think VC++ is the best IDE/Compiler out there...