Free Windows 64-bit C++11 compilers

Question

I'm looking for a free compiler that can generate a 64-bit Windows binary from code that uses some C++11 features.

Visual C++ Express doesn't ship with a 64-bit compiler. The classic workaround for this is to download the Windows SDK. However, SDK 7 seems to be contemporary with Visual C++ 2010, which doesn't support C++11, and SDK 8 says it doesn't include a compiler at all anymore. I get the impression Microsoft basically just doesn't provide free 64-bit C++ compilers anymore; is this correct?

There have been 64-bit versions of MinGW, though I get the impression they lag somewhat behind the latest GCC; what's the most up-to-date available version?

Are there any other options I'm overlooking?

Answer 1

All of the mainstream compilers that are freely available can meet your needs:

• VS 2012 Desktop Express ships with an x64 compiler.
• Mingw is open source and easy enough to build. So you can be as up-to-date as you like if you cannot find a binary distribution that meets your needs.
• Clang is also open source and what I said above for Mingw applies equally.