MSVC Compiler Documentation
Welcome to the Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler (MSVC) documentation. This section provides comprehensive information on using the MSVC compiler for C and C++ development on Windows.
Overview
The MSVC compiler is an integral part of Visual Studio, enabling developers to build powerful and efficient applications for Windows, Linux, and other platforms. It supports the latest C++ standards and offers a rich set of features for performance optimization, debugging, and code analysis.
Key Features
- Standard Compliance: Full support for C++11, C++14, C++17, and C++20 standards.
- Performance Optimizations: Advanced optimization techniques, including interprocedural optimization (IPO) and profile-guided optimization (PGO).
- Diagnostic Tools: Integrated static analysis, code coverage, and debugging capabilities.
- Cross-Platform Development: Support for building applications that target Windows, Linux, and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).
- Modern C++ Features: Comprehensive support for language features like concepts, modules, coroutines, and ranges.
Compiler Options
The MSVC compiler offers a wide array of command-line options to control compilation behavior, optimization levels, warning messages, and more. Here are some commonly used options:
Optimization Options
/O1: Minimize size./O2: Maximize speed./Ox: Full optimization (equivalent to/O2 /GF /Gy /Oi /Ot /Oy-)./Og: Enable global optimizations./Os: Optimize for size./Ot: Optimize for speed./Oi: Generate intrinsic functions./Oy: Enable frame pointer omission.
Warning Options
/W0: Disable all warnings./W1: Enable Level 1 warnings./W2: Enable Level 2 warnings./W3: Enable Level 3 warnings (default)./W4: Enable Level 4 warnings./Wall: Enable all warnings (including common warnings that are off by default)./WX: Treat all warnings as errors.
Code Generation Options
/EHsc: Enable C++ exception handling model./MD: Link with the multi-threaded C runtime library./MT: Link with the single-threaded C runtime library./Z7: Retain debug information in the .obj files./Zi: Produce a C7-compatible information-only debug format (.PDB file).
Example Usage
To compile a simple C++ file named hello.cpp with optimizations and treating warnings as errors, you would use the following command:
cl /EHsc /O2 /Wall /WX hello.cpp /Fe:hello.exeExplanation of the command:
cl: The MSVC compiler executable./EHsc: Enables the C++ exception handling model./O2: Optimizes for speed./Wall: Enables all warning levels./WX: Treats all warnings as errors, forcing you to fix them.hello.cpp: The source file to compile./Fe:hello.exe: Specifies the output executable file name ashello.exe.
Related Topics
This documentation is continuously updated. Please check back for the latest information and features.