The surest way to annoy a programmer is to state unequivocally that one integrated development environment (IDE) or another is the best of its kind. The fact is, they're all good in their respective ways; the issue boils down to one of personal preferences and experience rather than with characteristics of the IDEs themselves. Borland C++Builder 5 Enterprise is a top-shelf IDE designed for developing Windows applications, services, libraries, and other software in ANSI C and C++. Its user interface is attractive, its object model is intelligent, and its feature set stacks up well against all its competitors. It's a fine choice for Windows development work, particularly for projects that involve n-tier database connectivity, distributed applications, internationalization, Internet connectivity, or a combination of these.
This latest version of C++Builder incorporates improvements to its support of database connectivity, Internet applications, and Extensible Markup Language (XML). The editor now features better to-do list management and a variety of little interface improvements, including programmable key mappings. There's support for multithreaded background compilation now. The Enterprise edition also, for the first time, includes support for team-based development work. You'll find versioning, code check-in and checkout, and integration with project- tracking suites like PVCS. Complaints in the developer community seem to center on Borland's compiler yielding executables that are slightly less speedy (perhaps 5 or 10 percent slower) than the competing compiler in Microsoft Visual C++ 6. In absolute terms, the speed difference will hardly be noticeable in most applications. It's probably a worthwhile sacrifice if you prefer the Borland interface and tool set.
One of the most attractive features of the Enterprise edition is its database connectivity. This product comes with native drivers for Oracle (including Oracle 8i), Sybase, Informix, Microsoft SQL Server (including SQL Server 7), IBM DB2, and InterBase databases, all of which may be distributed as widely as you like under the C++Builder license without further royalty payments. The Enterprise edition also ships with several specialized SQL development tools and extensive support for the development of multitier database applications. For speeding creation of such systems, this product comes with the MIDAS Development Kit, which includes support for database connectivity over low-speed connections, client-side query formulation and data validation, and server-management operations.
The Enterprise package includes support for the Common Object Request Brokerage Architecture (CORBA). It has facilities for generating the interface stubs you need to share objects across processes, machines, and languages, and is a great way to integrate your Java components with the C++ code you write in C++Builder. You'll also want Enterprise for internationalized projects. Its internationalization features are better than those of other versions of C++Builder and include support for simultaneous development and translation.
Borland C++Builder comes with a Companion Tools CD-ROM that contains a selection of third-party products that complement the IDE. With contents that include some nice interface objects and some development utilities (some fully functional, some meant to make you aware of commercial offerings), the CD-ROM is well worth perusal. This product also ships with copies of Borland JBuilder 3 for Java development, Borland Delphi 4 for rapid creation of relatively simple Windows applications, and HoTMetaL Pro 5 for HTML and script development.
Overall, Borland C++Builder 5 Enterprise is one of the best C++ IDEs for bigtime Microsoft Windows programming work. With its intelligent interface and time-saving design rules, it's likely to reduce your development time and give you more freedom to explore its advanced features. --David Wall
