I am just beginning my journey in C++ programming (coming from many other languages). Because I am learning the basics, I would like to store many simple C++ programs in a single project. Each of these simple console type applications will contain a main function.
When creating an empty C++ project, Visual Studio creates 15 files which comes to 546KB. To save room on my computer, it would be best to have sub-folders within this single project for each small C++ program for learning purposes.
Is it possible to break different console based programs up into separate folders within the same Visual Studio C++ project? I am using VS 2017 Community Edition.
Edit:
I understand that you can create a VS Solution with multiple projects within. The reason why I don't want to do this is explained above. 546KB is a lot of space to allocate just for running a small console application. It would be best to have many programs that can run independently within a single project. Is there a way in VS to choose which main function to call out of all of the main C++ files?
You can use separate project Configuration for each main function that you've got in your project (e.g. create project Configurations named Main1 and Main2). Then you can conditionally include the .cpp file that implements the relevant main function by editing your .vcxproj file, e.g.:
<ClCompile Include="main1.cpp" Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Main1'" />
<ClCompile Include="main2.cpp" Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Main2'" />
That will include main1.cpp only for a Configuration named Main1 and main2.cpp only for a Configuration named Main2.
I'd not recommend that though because Visual Studio 2017 does not update the Solution Explorer correctly when you switch the current configuration and you'll need to reload the project to see the current files.
Instead of conditional inclusion use the Excluded from build property to exclude files that shouldn't be compiled as part of the current configuration. This will show all files in solution explorer but only include the appropriate files when the build is actually performed. This is a bit backwards but works nicely with the UI. It has the additional benefit of being something the VS property editor can do without needing to open and manually edit the vcproj file.
The Excluded from build property is found on the file properties Configuration properties -> General. Open solution explorer (View->Solution explorer) right click on the file and that pane should be the default.
Related
Historical context:
We have a project consisting of following parts:
Host application (C++)
Scripting Engine library (also written in C++)
A lot of C++ plugins (around 30+)
A lot of scripts that tie all the stuff together...
From version to version some plugins are added and some are removed.
Till now we used Visual Studio solution (*.sln) to contain all the projects (*.vcxproj) for Host application, Scripting Engine library and plugins (one *.vcxproj per plugin!).
To share sources/projects we use proprietary source control system, and till now once we merged updates from the server (some plugin projects are added and some plugin projects are removed) all the project tree in the VS were refreshed thanks to "reload" feature (no action was required from developer to see and build updated source tree).
The problem:
Now our senior management decided to switch to Eclipse CDT/MinGW pair and we faced the issue that Eclipse Workspace is not the same thing as Visual Studio *.sln ...
Now when some plugin project folder appears or some plugin project folders disappears corresponding workspace items do not update accordingly.
Thus from now every developer has to use File>Import...>General>"Existing projects into workspace" File/"Open Projects from File System" to add new projects to own Workspace manually once they were added by other developer to the source control.
Also one has to manually remove from own Workspace those plugin projects that were deleted from source control...
This is a great contrast with what we previously had with Visual Studio where "reload" feature automatically updated project/source tree (just bacause all the information arrived with *.sln/*.vcxproj from server).
Our first option was to place Workspace\.metadata etc stuff to source control (as we previously did for *.sln files) but "that is not the way how Eclipse Workspace is designed to be used" (this is even not possible just because paths in .metadata\* are absolute and tons of Workspace\* stuff it is not mergeable at all)
Question:
Is there some way to automatically syncronize Eclipse CDT Workspace with project set obtained from source control. Like just press some (hidden?) magic "refresh" button (in special plugin to install or something like that) and all the new projects will be automatically added to the source tree in the Workspace and deleted projects will also disappear automatically, wothout need to use all those "Import" wizards, and withot need to remove deleted projects manually?
May be there is a special "Container" project type in Eclipse to play the same role as *.sln did in Visual Studio or something like that?
May be other options available?... Overall intention is not in replacing *.sln by some Eclipse equivalent but to support similar workflow when bunch of plugin projects is managed as a whole and project set "refresh" to be simple operation that does not require from each person in the team to manually track projects appeared/disappeared in that set.
Have you looked at using CMake to generate the Eclipse project files? You can then import those into an Eclipse workspace.
Its not automatic, but if you create separate CMakeLists.txt files for each part, then you can easily comment the include of that part in the main CMakeLists.txt file and regenerate the project files when you only want to load subset of the project.
https://cmake.org/Wiki/Eclipse_CDT4_Generator
Should you ever want to change back to VS or to another IDE CMake can generate project files for that too.
I've personally only used CMake to generate VS-solutions and Unix make files so I can't vouch for how well this works.
HTH.
On side note, why did management decide that Eclipse should be used instead of Visual Studio? It sounds like a poor decision without factual grounds or impact research prior to the decision being made.
Was it because Eclipse is free? Did they consider what reduced developer productivity costs?
I came across the Framework and References tab of my project and noticed that I can "Add New Reference..." to my project, what is this functionality?
References are used to pull additional libraries into your project. For example, when you're creating a Windows project, you'll be using Windows forms, XML parsers, socket libraries, and lots of other useful stuff. Now, you could create all these from scratch, but that would be an insane undertaking. Instead, you can use libraries which have been pre-built, such as System.Windows.Forms (all the form stuff), System.Xml (XML parser stuff) and others.
Down at the low level, these are all DLL files precompiled by Microsoft and distributed along with Visual Studio. Add Reference allows you to add new ones of these to your project, for example, Managed DirectX for 3D isn't something which is commonly used, so must be manually added to a project.
I've also just noticed the C++ tag on this, so this may actually sound very patronising (as I may have gotten the scope of the question wrong), in which case, I didn't mean it. For C++, it will be used for C++/CLI, which is Microsoft's attempt to allow C++ to use the .NET framework.
For C/C++ in Visual Studio 2010 Express, adding a project reference (see first image, text in German, but you get the idea) adds a node as follows to the .vcxproj file:
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectReference Include="..\Ws1Lib\Ws1Lib.vcxproj">
<Project>{22c9de39-f327-408b-9918-187c0ee63a86}</Project>
</ProjectReference>
</ItemGroup>
This will make the static library produced by the referenced project available to the referencing project and also add a non-removable project dependency (right-click the project and select project dependencies, see second image) to the referencing project.
(The effect of such click actions on project configuration files become apparent when you put the project configuration files under version control and then look at the diff.)
To create setup where one or more projects reference a static library project, see this MSDN guide:
Walkthrough: Creating and Using a Static Library (C++)
I am trying to import an existing c++ application's source into visual studio to take advantage of some specific MS tools. However, after searching online and playing with visual studio, I cannot seem to find an easy way to import existing c++ source code into visual studio and keep it structurally intact.
The import capacity I did find flattens out the directories and puts them all into one project. Am I missing something?
(This is all unmanaged C++, and contains specific builds for win/unix)
With no project/solution loaded, in Visual Studio 2005 I see this menu item:
File > New Project From Existing Code...
After following the wizard, my problem is solved!
Switching the "Show All Files" button shows the complete hierarchy with all directories and files within.
If the New Project From Existing Code... option isn't available, you'll need to add it in Tools > Customize...
I am not aware of any general solution under the constraints given - specifically having to create many projects from a source tree.
The best option I see is actually creating the project files by some script.
Creating a single project manually (create empty project, then add the files),
Configure it as close as possible as desired (i.e. with precompiled headers, build configurations, etc.)
Use the .vcproj created as skeleton for the project files to be created
A very simple method would file list, project name etc. with "strange tokens", and fill them in with your generator. If you want to be the good guy, you can of course use some XML handling library.
Our experience: We actually don't store the .vcproj and .sln in the repository (git) anymore, but a python script that re-genrates them from the source tree, together with VS 2008 "property sheet templates" (or whatever they are called). This helps a lot making general adjustments.
The project generation script contains information about all the projects specialties (e.g. do they use MFC/ATL, will it create DLL or an EXE, files to exclude).
In addition, this script also contains dependencies, which feeds the actual build script.
This works quite well, the problems are minor: python requried in build systems, not forgetting to re-gen the project files, me having to learn some python to make adjustments to some projects.
#Michael Burr "How complex are the python scripts and whatever supporting 'templates' you might need?"
I honestly can't tell, since I gave the task to another dev (who picked python). The original task was to provide a build script, as the VS2008 solution build was not good enough for our needs, and the old batch file didn't support parallelization. .vcproj generation was added later. As I understand his script generates the .vcproj and .sln files from scratch, but pulls in all the settings from separate property sheets.
Pros:
Adding new configurations on the fly. Some of the projects already had six configurations, and planning for unicode support meant considering doubling them for a while. Some awkward tools still build as MBCS, so some libs do have 8 configs now. Configuring that from hand is a pain, now it just doesn't bother me anymore.
Global changes, e.g. moving around relative project paths, the folder for temp files and for final binaries until we found a solution we were happy with
Build Stability. Merging VC6 project files was a notable source of errors for various reasons, and VC9 project files didn't look better. Now things seem isolated better: compile/link settings in the property sheets, file handling in the script. Also, the script mostly lists variations from our default, ending up easier to read than a project file.
Generally: I don't see a big benefit when your projects are already set up, they are rather stable, and you don't have real issues. However, when moving into the unknown (for us: mostly VC6 -> VC9 and Unicode builds), the flexibility reduced the risk of experiments greatly.
Create a new empty solution and add your source code to it.
For example,
File>New>Project...
Visual C++>Win32>Win32 Console Application
Application Settings>
- Uncheck "Precompiled Header"
- Check "Empty Project"
Project is then created. To add existing code:
Project>Add Existing Item...>
- Select file(s) to add
Recompile, done!
In the "Solution Explorer" you can click on the "Show All Files" button to have Visual Studio display the files as they exist on the file system (directories and all).
In my opinion this is an imperfect workaround, but I believe it's the best available. I'm unaware of a plug-in, macro or other tool that'll import a directory into an actual project with folders that mirror the file system's.
I know this question is already marked correct, but I was able to import existing code into a project with Visual Studio 2008 by doing "File" -> "New Project from existing code". The directory structure of my code was retained.
You can always switch view from project menu
For eg. Project->Show All Files
The above will display the files in unformated raw file system order
Not sure of older versions but it works on VS 2010
I understand you, I have the same problem: many .cpp and .h files organized in many folders and subfolders with include paths written for this folder structure. The only way you can do to import this folder structure together with the source files is to use "Show All Files" and then right-click on folders and select "Import in Project". This works for me when I am using C-Sharp projects. But it does not work for my C++ Projects. I am still searching for a solution...
I am a professional working for a software firm.In my past company basically i was working on C & C++ on unix.Now i suddenly shifted to C++ on Windows and i feel like i am in a completely different world.Basically i am working on a very big application which was totally written in C++.To keep it simple ,i dont have the source code .I have the exe of the application and several other dependent files.it is a GUI application(several windows,reports,graphs and huge mathematical calculations are done by this application).Now i finally have the source code of the application which includes some headers,some vcproj files,some dsw files and several other which i dont even understand why the hell are they present.
Now as i C++ programmer my responsibility is to make all the BUGS that the clients identify replicate and fix them.
If its a bug on unix i can simply use the binary and source code and run gdb/dbx and find out the issue in some or other way like adding adding some printf statements.
But given the files i mentioned above.how could istart debugging an application in VC++ in VISUAL STUDIO.
Is it very difficult for a C++ programmer to shift from Unix to Windows.
Is ther any good resource which i could refer for this kind of change where i could grasp things quickly?
given the exe and the source code of the application how can i start debugging a program by running the application in VS C++-(BTW i am using VS 2005)
The main difference is that on Unix, you'll have Makefiles, which you won't find on Windows. Visual Studio organizes your code in projects and solutions, and those project files contain all the information VS needs to compile&link your projects.
If you have a *.sln file, just double click it to open it in VS. Then build the source (usually by pressing F6) and run in debug mode (usually F5).
More details:
A project is a collection of source files that result in 'something', usually a LIB, a DLL or an EXE.
A solution is a collection of projects. Useful when e.g. one project creates a LIB that is used by another project. When you set dependencies between projects, VS will build the projects in the right order.
Extensions used:
*.vcproj : Project file for C/C++ sources
*.vcproj..user : contains which windows are open in the GUI.
Can safely be deleted.
*.sln : Solution file
*.ncb : Intellisense database for a solution. Can safely be deleted.
*.suo : contains which windows are open in the GUI. Can safely be deleted.
*.dsw : Visual Studio 6.0 related file - not used in VS2005. (Replaced by *.sln IIRC)
./Debug/* : folder with all
intermediate files for a Debug build
(can be changed)
./Release/* : folder with all
intermediate files for a Release
build (can be changed)
That's all I can think of at the moment.
If you only have a .DSW file and not a .SLN file, then it means that the project was probably last worked on with VC6 and not one of the later Visual Studio versions.
That's a shame, because there have been lots of changes to the C++ compiler since VC6, and you're probably going to find the project doesn't compile with VS2005 without needing some minor changes to source code.
Do you have a .SLN file - if so, what's the version number at the top of the file (it's a text file)? If you don't have a .SLN file, can you get hold of VC6?
I would always try to get stuff going on an unfamiliar platform with the best matching tools, before I tried to bring it forward to later versions.
I understand your pain; I took the same path a few months ago.
You probably figured it out, but Visual Studio is not the exact alternative of gcc/g++. It embeds a text editor, a debugger, and so on.
Usually, you have two compilation "modes", debug and release. (you can add your own)
When in debug mode, all optimization are disabled and you can execute your program in the debugger, use step by step, add breakpoints, ...
Just start it using the F5 key.
More notes on the additional files:
In the Visual Studio world, .vcproj files represents "projects": a bunch of file that belongs to the same project (source files, headers, resources, ...).
A .dsw (old name for current .sln files I believe) is a "solution" file: a group of one or several projects which can have internal dependencies. Example: you can have in the same solution, a library and a software that depends on it. So that when you compile the whole solution, things are built in the correct order.
First thing you should try is to attach to the process while it's running (Ctr-Alt-P and select the process) if you have the .pdb (debug information) files you should be able to debug the process without re-building it.
If that fails try to un-check the "Require source files to exactly match the original version" option in Tools -> Options -> Debugging.
If that too fails you'll have to build the application again (by opening the .sln file and performing a build) so that the binary matches your source files.
Good luck.
Compile the code with debug info and press f5 (Start Debugging). I don't see where is the problem. On linux is sort of the same.
VS2005 can convert the dsw file for you to a sln file, but you need all of the original VC6 files in order for the conversion to be successful. For debugging please check out following msdn link, I hope this will help you.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/sc65sadd.aspx
Please select hyperlink "Debugging Native Code" for C++ specific.
I have an online repository with some .h and .cpp files that make up part of a project. I'm trying to check these out and use them in a new project, but am getting errors (C4627 and C1010). All the files have been added to the project (with Add>Existing Item...), and the subdirectories that contain these files have been added to the "Additional include directories" of the project.
Would I be better off having the entire project tree in the repository? My reason for not doing so is that my colleague and I are working on different parts of the code and so want to use different main methods to test things as we go, and I didn't see any need to be passing around any compiled code etc. since I assumed that given the .h and .cpp files (with the correct settings), visual studio would be able to compile the project.
What's the best way to make Visual Studio 2008 and TortoiseSVN work well together (without spending any money)?
Would I be better off having the entire project tree in the repository?
Most certainly yes. You should be able to check out and build without much effort. Creating a new project every time you want to build the source and having to configure it is way too much work.
My reason for not doing so is that my colleague and I are working on different parts of the code and so want to use different main methods to test things as we go, and I didn't see any need to be passing around any compiled code etc.
Ok, just put more than one project in the solution. There's no reason you can't have separate executable projects for separate tests.
I assumed that given the .h and .cpp files (with the correct settings), visual studio would be able to compile the project.
If all of the settings are the same, then, yes, it should compile fine, but why bother with the hassle when you don't have to?
Also AnkhSVN which isn't too bad and it's free. Also, lots of the windows it displays look like TFS (if you're familiar with it)
What's the best way to make Visual Studio 2008 and TortoiseSVN work well together (without spending any money)?
There are a bunch of programs that integrate SVN into Visual Studio. VisualSVN is one of them.
Apologies for the VisualSVN recommendation. We used to use it in an old project and I'm positive it was free then. Maybe they changed their license?