Binary downloads built with newer MinGW?

[just6979]

Could we also get a binary built with TDM-GCC 5.1.0? This GCC version is currently (2017 Feb) the latest and default build from TDM, and provides the option of using SFML with a full C++14 compiler, without having to build SFML from source.

The TDM GCC 4.9 version currently used to build the SFML binaries was released in 2014, and only supports about half the new features in C++14.

The MinGW-builds GCC 6.1 option is nice, but MinGW-builds (as linked on the SFML downloads page) isn't as easy to setup as TDM GCC, and only has a couple C++17 features over 5.x

It would actually be nice to have 3 options (each for 32-bit & 64-bit) corresponding with C++ releases:
- TDM GCC 4.9 for C++11
- TDM GCC 5.1 for C++14
- TDM GCC 7.x or MinGW-builds 7.x for C++17 (when it's final and pending compiler releases)

[JayhawkZombie]

Until the devs get around to do this, you could try compiling it with CMake: http://www.sfml-dev.org/tutorials/2.4/compile-with-cmake.php 
CMake isn't always fun, but sometimes it's all we've got.  Besides, with CMake you get more control over your environment, like compiling statically, etc.

[eXpl0it3r]

I'm not a fan of TDM at all, since due to its quirks, it has a different default behavior than every other MinGW/GCC/Clang interface (e.g. linking runtime libraries static by default) and thus, I can't recommend it to anyone - a lot of build scripts will break with TDM and we had to add additional checks to CMake just for this compiler.
The only reason we provide TDM builds, is because the x86 version is shipped with Code::Blocks and the x64 version was added so there's an x64 version. Since there are so many Code::Blocks users, this makes it easier for us (less linker errors that we have to solve for them) and easier for them.

We provide builds for an uptodate compiler for every minor release with MinGW Builds, which is equally easy to use and setup. Either you just unzip the linked archives (how much simpler could it get) or you take the installer and choose your wanted compiler.

In the end, if you plan to use just minor SFML releases anyways, then it's really easy to just build from source once. It takes you less time to do than us having to update the website and builds and scripts etc. and we can spend our time on other SFML-related things. There are so many MinGW versions out there, that it's impossible to satisfy everyone with the pre-built binaries we provide, however if you compare it to most other libraries, we provide more pre-built binaries than most of them - many only ship the source code.

[Turbine]

Could we also get a binary built with TDM-GCC 5.1.0? This GCC version is currently (2017 Feb) the latest and default build from TDM, and provides the option of using SFML with a full C++14 compiler, without having to build SFML from source.

The TDM GCC 4.9 version currently used to build the SFML binaries was released in 2014, and only supports about half the new features in C++14.

The MinGW-builds GCC 6.1 option is nice, but MinGW-builds (as linked on the SFML downloads page) isn't as easy to setup as TDM GCC, and only has a couple C++17 features over 5.x

It would actually be nice to have 3 options (each for 32-bit & 64-bit) corresponding with C++ releases:
- TDM GCC 4.9 for C++11
- TDM GCC 5.1 for C++14
- TDM GCC 7.x or MinGW-builds 7.x for C++17 (when it's final and pending compiler releases)

I'd suggest using MinGW-w64 (GCC 6.3.1) and compiling the latest SFML from the GIT repository.

[jamesL]

I'd suggest using MinGW-w64 (GCC 6.3.1) and compiling the latest SFML from the GIT repository.

why

what is the advantage of doing that compared to just downloading the prebuilt GCC 6.1.0 MinGW (SEH) - 64-bit

[Mario]

It always gives you the exact and correct version for your specific compiler configuration no matter what and it's literally a matter of seconds to actually do so.