I write the plugins for AutoCAD. If I write the managed (i.e. .net) plugins, then I can use any Visual Studio version which can work with .NET Framework version which are used by AutoCAD (it is very convenient):
AutoCAD 2009 can use .NET 3.0, 3.5
AutoCAD 2010 can use .NET 3.5.
...
AutoCAD 2016 can use .NET 4.5, 4.5.1
So, through Visual Studio 2013 I can write the .net plugins for AutoCAD 2009-2016.
But sometimes I need to write unmanaged plugins for AutoCAD, because its managed .net API covers unmanaged API (ObjectARX SDK) not complettely. ObjectARX is API for C++. At this case I can't use the same Visual Studio for each AutoCAD version. For example, I am to use VS 2005 for AutoCAD 2009 plugins writting. Therefore I have installed VS 2005-2013 on my virtual machine. It is very unconvenient in my opinion.
I know, this problem exists because the standard of C++ functions naming is not exist and each version of VS has own rules of the name generation for the functions which aren't marked by external "C".
But why this standard is not exist still? What the reason of it? I am sure this reason is exists. Such behaviour is unconvenient is not for me only (I asked other programmers about it). But they don't know why each new VS version has own rules of C++ function naming and why standard of nameing of C++ functions is not exist.
Thank you.
A standard does exist, see https://mentorembedded.github.io/cxx-abi/abi.html#mangling
But not all compilers use it, because they have their own mangling conventions that they have used for many years, and they don't want to change them for various reasons.
In your case the differences between different versions of Visual Studio are not just name mangling, there are changes in the C++ runtime library and the standard library.
Related
I have written a dll in visual studio community 2017. To be used as a general purpose library. Which could be ideally used for any c++ program for any compiler.
How will I best deploy it. (An installer)
In Visual Studio, I can simply add the project and reference it through settings in my IDE, but for it to work in any IDE, what kind of installer project should i use and what all files should be included and how.
You can't deploy a C++ DLL for all compilers. C++ doesn't have an ABI. Not even MSVC++ is compatible across versions, let alone compilers from different vendors.
The Windows solution for binary compatibility is COM. Conveniently, MSVC++ will use the COM ABI for classes that inherit from IUnknown, although you'll also have to adhere to other COM rules for full compatibility. E.g. you can't rely on dynamic_cast, you need QueryInterface.
I've got a lot of code generation tools that use portable libraries. Now that we're (apparently) dropping portable libraries for .NET Standard, I'm trying to convert my custom code generation tools to this stack. Has anyone been able to do this? I get the message that the Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.Interop package is incompatible with both .NET Standard and .Net Core. How are we supposed to make custom tools for Visual Studio when the portable libraries are becoming obsolete and the new libraries aren't interoperable with Visual Studio (real question, not a rant)?
I have a C++ project that builds a .NET class library that targets the framework 3.5.
This project has been working seamlessly since ages and the classes can be used from, among others, C# applications. It was developed with Visual Studio 2008 Professional.
Now I need to migrate if to Visual Studio 2012 Professional. I have successfully converted the project.
I meet a first problem, which is that the target framework cannot be changed from the project Common Properties, the field is read-only.
I can work around this by editing the .vcxproj file to insert a TargetedFramework tag. The new version does appear in the Common Properties.
I am also able to add references to the .NET assemblies that the library needs (just System, System.Drawing and System.Windows.Forms). The class library compiles correctly to a Dll and I can see its content in the Object Browser.
Now if I try to use it in an application targeting a framework version below 4, I get the message
1>C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\Microsoft.Common.Targets(1605,5): warning MSB3258: The primary reference "MyClasses" could not be resolved because it has an indirect dependency on the .NET Framework assembly "mscorlib, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" which has a higher version "4.0.0.0" than the version "2.0.0.0" in the current target framework.
I can't see where an indirect reference could come from (my explicit references are to v2.0.50727, which seem to be the file version for 2.0/3.0/3.5).
Do you have any explanation ?
(Expanding on Hans's correct comments)
Visual Studio supports .NET multi-targeting for the C++/CLI language by launching older versions of the C++ compiler.
As a result, the language features are inextricably linked to the .NET framework dependency -- with the newer compilers (Visual C++ 2010 and later), you get C++11 and C++14 features and .NET 4, with the older compilers (Visual C++ 2008 and before) you get .NET 2, but very little C++11 support.
To control this, there's a Platform Toolset selection in the Project Properties, but some manual project file editing is also required.
The Visual C++ Team wrote a blog post about C++ Managed Multi-Targeting in Visual Studio 2010... for later versions, read the documentation on MSDN.
I'm using C++ for the first time since pre-.Net days and I'm confused about some of their C++ offerings and how they name them.
Prior to .Net, Microsoft supported a language called C++ which was pretty close to the industry standard. But when they introduced .Net they add a lot of extensions to their C++ and called it "Managed C++".
Then in 2005 they dropped that and replaced in with "C++/CLI" which is a version of C++ that conforms to Microsoft's (ISO-certified) Common Language Infrastructure and has some syntax changes (e.g., ^ instead of * for pointing to .Net objects, etc). C++/CLI can be compiled down to the platform-neutral Common Intermediate Language (CIL). At runtime this is processed into machine code by the Common Language Runtime (CLR). Here's a diagram from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Overview_of_the_Common_Language_Infrastructure.svg
Here's where I get confused:
In Visual Studio 2010 Professional I don't see the term "C++/CLI" anywhere, even though that is supposedly what Microsoft is offering. If I do File->New->Project->Other Languages it lets me select "Visual C++"
1. What is "Visual C++" and how does it relate to C++/CLI?
At the top level of "Visual C++" it lets me create an "Empty Project" and in the Project Properties for it, Common Language Runtime is set to "No Common Language Runtime Support"
2. Does "No Common Language Runtime Support" also mean no CLI/CIL and thus no C++/CLI syntax? In other words does the state of that setting determine whether this is "C++/CLI" or just plain old unmanaged C++?
Underneath "Visual C++" it also has entries for CLR and General. If I make a CLR Empty project I notice that Common Language Runtime is set to "Common Language Runtime Support /clr"
3. Is that the only difference between a Visual C++ empty project and a Visual C++ CLR empty project?
4. What is a Visual C++ "General" empty project?
5. Is all this stuff documented/explained somewhere?
EDIT: Since posting my question I've noticed that it's even more complicated. The default properties for Common Language Runtime vary on different templates under the CLR node from CLR to CLR with "Pure" MSIL to CLR with "Safe" MSIL. And that's just that one "Common Language Runtime" setting. Does Microsoft document these templates anyplace?
The Wikipedia article on Microsoft Visual Studio says:
Microsoft Visual C++ is Microsoft's implementation of the C and C++
compiler and associated languages-services and specific tools for
integration with the Visual Studio IDE. It can compile either in C
mode or C++ mode. For C, it follows the ISO C standard with parts of
C99 specification along with MS-specific additions in the form of
libraries. For C++, it follows the ANSI C++ specification along with
a few C++11 features. It also supports the C++/CLI specification to
write managed code, as well as mixed-mode code (a mix of native and
managed code). Microsoft positions Visual C++ for development in
native code or in code that contains both native as well as managed
components. Visual C++ supports COM as well as the MFC library. For
MFC development, it provides a set of wizards for creating and
customizing MFC boilerplate code, and creating GUI applications using
MFC. Visual C++ can also use the Visual Studio forms designer to
design UI graphically. Visual C++ can also be used with the Windows
API. It also supports the use of intrinsic functions, which are
functions recognized by the compiler itself and not implemented as a
library. Intrinsic functions are used to expose the SSE instruction
set of modern CPUs. Visual C++ also includes the OpenMP (version 2.0)
specification.
So, I can have a go at answering your questions (which, by the way, are too broad):
Microsoft Visual C++ (often abbreviated as MSVC or VC++) is a commercial (free version available), integrated development environment (IDE) product from Microsoft for the C, C++, and C++/CLI programming languages. It features tools for developing and debugging C++ code, especially code written for the Microsoft Windows API, the DirectX API, and the Microsoft .NET Framework.
I'd say yes.
I'd say yes, but that is a big difference in itself, even if it is the only one.
I don't know exactly. I guess an empty project is a project which is designed so that you add your own stuff to it. "General" probably means that the project is not of any specific kind.
Microsoft has tons of documentation on MSDN, but has a long tradition in confusing people between the real C++ and their own managed C++-ish language, whatever they call it today. (I have always thought that this is bad, because C++ is C++ and there are lots of names out there for your new language, and that they've done it on purpose to gain clueless users. But this last sentence is an opinion, so it doesn't belong here. Hence the brackets.)
Does "No Common Language Runtime Support" also mean no CLI/CIL and thus no C++/CLI syntax? In other words does the state of that setting
determine whether this is "C++/CLI" or just plain old unmanaged C++?
Yes it means.
When you select "Create a new project" you can select (something as) "CLR Console Application" It means C++/CLI console application.
Also you can create Managed C++ console application if in the project properties you select option as
(something as) "CLR-support, old syntax (/clr:oldSyntax)" (I have Russian edition of MS VS 2010)
I searched around for the answers to these questions, but I have had little luck. So, I thought I would post them here to get some clarification. If this is a duplicate, please let me know, and I will close this.
Okay, with that said, I would like to begin learning C++. I come from a C# background and I have a great respect for Visual Studio and what it can do. Now, my question is. How well does Visual Studio's compiler work for C++ as opposed to a non-Microsoft version (such as MinGW)?
My thing is this. I have nothing wrong with Microsoft, but I would really like to learn C++ in a "pure" form and not scewed by any particular implementation. How reliant is Visual C++ on the .NET Framework? Can a "pure" C++ application be created through Visual Studio without any .NET usage or overhead? Does the Visual Studio compiler compile C++ into CIL like it does with C#/VB, or does it compile it all the way down as others do?
Thanks for any help anyone can provide!
The Visual C++ compiler will compile C++ code into standalone EXEs that have nothing to do with the .NET framework.
The only way to get the .NET baggage thrown in is to compile the C++ as "managed".
If you create a new project (File|New|New Project) Then choose "Win32" from the Visual C++ submenu in the project types and choose "Win32 Console Application" Visual studio will create a simple project with a couple of source files that will compile to a little executable.
Most of the time, Visual C++ is very similar to other compilers. Avoid #pragmas, microsoft libraries (MFC, ATL) and you should be fine.
Edit (thanks Cheeso) - Documentation of where Visual C++ diverges from standard.
In general I would advise using boost libraries for threads and networking because they work on many platforms (i.e linux). Also if your code can compile in GCC and Visual Studio then you are doing a good job keeping it portable.
The most recent versions of VC++ have become significantly more compliant to the C++ standard, so it's not really an issue to write "pure" C++ using Visual Studio, presuming that you stay out of the Windows API, COM+ and ATL. In fact, the documentation with Visual Studio is very rich, with details on the standard libraries and the STL, so it can help you learn a great deal. It can't teach you everything, but it's certainly loaded up with a wealth of information that is portable to any compiler and it is very easily accessbible inside the IDE.
If you create a new solution you should choose new Win32 Project, or Win32 Console Application, and check the 'Empty Project' option. Then you can add a main.cpp file, and add your standard C++ code.
If you like Visual Studio, go ahead and use it to learn C++ -- I haven't used the very latest version, but even the previous one was pretty standards-compliant, C++-wise, and I assume the latest one can only have gotten better. You can have many different kinds of project in Visual Studio, including "console apps", which are the "plain vanilla" kind you could make on any platform, and also many other kinds, such as, windows apps using the good old win32 api, ones made with MFC or other frameworks older than .NET, .NET ones using "managed code", etc.
Just make sure you always work in a "console app" project, and you'll be operating pretty closely to how you would be on other platforms and/or with other C++ IDEs.
If you limit yourself to writing ANSI C++ compliant code then what you write in VS will work in other compilers, until you have to interact with a graphic interface or IO. Then you need to make certain that you are using something that is portable, such as OpenGL, and not DirectX.
To set your project the steps here may be useful:
http://bytes.com/topic/net/answers/447572-strict-ansi-c
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 comes with a very good, C++98 standard compliant pure C++ compiler. If you are interested in pure C++, don't forget to disable language extensions in project settings and you are good to go. Nobody is going to force you to use .NET framework, MFC or anyting like that. Just pure core C++ language and C++ standard library.
Of course, just like any other compiler, it has known non-compliance issues, but in general it is, again, surprisingly good. Older versions of their compiler (MS VS 6.0 specifically) suffered from many non-compliance problems and could not even compile its own header files with language extensions disabled. In 2005 version they fixed a lot of these issues.
After creating a standard Win32 project, you can turn up the compliance a bit more. On the project properties sheet, there's a C/C++ category, with a Language entry. This lists a number of cases where VC++ can differ from the standard. Here, you'd want to turn OFF language extensions, and turn ON "wchar_t as built-in type", "for-loop conformance" and "RTTI support".