I'm a beginner in programming and wanted to know the best free IDE that I should use. I am currently using turbo. And also how do I clear the output screen in turbo?
I've never used IDE, so I have no factual opinion, but hearsay indicates that turbo is not the answer. Code::blocks might be.
No IDE "clears screen". Standard C++ does not "clear screen" either. The API of the terminal program, in which the your console application does run, usually offers something, but there is no standard. One (semi)portable option is to use variant of ncurses-library. It will translate your commands to the terminal's language.
Code::Blocks is your best bet. There seems to be issues with Bloodshed not compiling some code, Visual C++ doesnt follow the GCC ruleset and does their own thing, so things might get hairy there.
Code::Blocks is both open source, and cross-platform, so that IDE should work across all platforms (aka Linux, Mac, Windows, etc.)
Orwell Dev C++ is regularly updated (last update is just 1 day ago - see my previous link). most of the time i use it (i also have C::B and VS.). its very fast and simple. its syntax highlighting is cool. all beginners should give it a try before trying others!
Code::Blocks and Orwell Dev C++ do (or can) use the same compiler, so their differences are not in C++ support but in their GUI. There are two questions: (1) can the GUI do the job, and (2) is it nice to use? The latter is a matter of taste. Liking something does not mean that it is good for everyone.
On Windows, I'm still a huge fan of MSVS. The integrated debugger (which is the single most important feature of an IDE and is arguably the entire point of using one) is stellar, and I was not as happy with C::B's debugger integration when I used it last.
Syntax highlighting, auto-complete, and all that other stuff is pretty much interchangable and comparable between all IDEs. VS has a lot of stuff like that, but its autocomplete stuff gets in the way more than it helps, so I found myself disabling it.