general development question

[brent verner]

Hi,

Sorry that I must subject this list to my noise, but I really have
no other source of (reliable) input. By day, I work as a perl/php/
asp/unameit programmer in a web shop, and I don't know anyone else
who uses c++, so I'm kinda on my own (unless one/some of you kind
souls will advise) with this growing stack o' books that I read when
I'm not butchering c++ :)

1) Which version of gcc/g++ are you using for development? binutils?
   
2) Do you use any specialized tools/software to assist in development?
   I'm currently using vim + cscope + ddd/gdb for my hackings.
   
3) [started question about a TODO list, then I found:]
       http://sourceware.cygnus.com/libstdc++/17_intro/TODO
   Is this file up to date?
   
4) Is there another source the standard can be bought online?
   I've tried to buy from the ansi site, but it always (too quickly!)
   says my card is bad :\
   
5) (Briefly) How different is the dec 96 working draft from the final
   standard? i.e., should I be studying it, or should I wait until
   I get my hands on the standard before burying my head?
   
6) Is there a quick way to rebuild the library after modifying one
   of the files? I've been saying 'make clean-target libstdc++-v3'
   then 'make' in the $builddir... I hope there is a faster way :)
   
7) Which things TODO would be most appropriate for a new contributor
   to help with? -- assuming that _serious_ work is gonna have to be
   done by someone whose head is already wrapped around the relevant
   code.
   
8) anybody around Raleigh up for a beer sometime?

Please, reply directly if this subject is _way_ out of line for the 
list. If any other lone-coder/newbie would like a compilation of any
answers I get, drop me an email -- or maybe I could make an 'Answers
to questions most likely to have been asked by a monkey' page :)

Again, thanks.
  Brent

-- 
Damon Brent Verner
Cracker Jack® Certified Professional
brent@rcfile.org, brent@linux1.org