How to correctly install platform toolsets - c++

I know there are tons of other threads about it, but I couldn't find any which could help me.
So I've got VS2013 Ultimate installed. I've got an old project which works with only VS2008SP1. On other compilers it has compatibility issues which I don't want to bother with. So I would like to try to compile it from 2013 with 2008 tools, so I hope I can compile it without uninstalling my current VS2013.
So, if I install VS2008, will this overwrite my current 2013 or just getting added as a toolset?
If I use 2008 toolset, will this work the same way as I had a VS2008?
Do I have to do something else to make it work?
And just a secondary question which is not related to may current question at all:
If I compile a lib with VS2013, can I use this lib in my VS2008 Project, or do I have to compile the lib with VS2008 too?
Thank you for your answers!

Microsoft doesn't recommend installing VS 2008 if you already have VS 2013 installed. In general they say:
We recommend that you install Visual Studio versions in the order in
which they were released. For example, install Visual Studio 2012
before you install Visual Studio 2013.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms246609.aspx
So, to answer your question: you probably should uninstall VS 2013, but you can install it again after installing VS 2008. Before doing that though it might be a good idea to clean the register as well as file leftovers from VS 2013 to avoid compatibility problems.
And yes, you can use 2008 compiler in 2013 version. There are a plenty of SO thread about it, e.g. :
Use Visual Studio 2012 and compile with older platform toolset?
How can I use Visual Studio 2010 with the Visual C++ 2008 compiler?
If I compile a lib with VS2013, can I use this lib in my VS2008
Project, or do I have to compile the lib with VS2008 too?
You have to compile this lib in VS 2008, if you want to use it with VS 2008.

Related

visual studio 2012 mingw and format error

I'm taking a c++ class and the instructor has stated that we can use any IDE that we like however, he will be compiling our .cpp and .h files using mingw. I'm using Visual Studio 2012. How should be creating projects using VS2012 to ensure that they will compile with mingw? Can I start the project as win32 or should I use a general empty project? Compilers and dll's are an enigma to me.
I also have code::blocks installed from a previous class and then just to really screw up my default settings and directories I downloaded and installed Visual Studio 2015 in an attempt to upgrade. I have since uninstalled VS2015 and all of the other software that installed at the same time. Now, anytime I start a new project in VS2012 I get the error:
An attempt was made to load a program with an incorrect format
(Exception from HRESULT 0X8007000B)
I suspect that when I installed VS2015 something changed where my x86 VS2012 is looking trying to use x64 or something other than Visual Studio 11.
I'd love to fix that glitch if you can help.
Thanks

Visual Studio c++ download and excecution for new computer with windows 8.1 64bit

I just bought a new computer, with Windows 8.1 64bit installed and wanted to start developing in C++.I am new to Visual Studio, I used to do it with eclipse but suggestions I found in the internet were to prefer Visual Studio.
I tried to download Visual Studio C++ 2008 redistributable package (x64) from here http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15336.
But I couldn't find where it was stored in my computer, after searching it with key words. Then I uninstalled it, to install again from scratch.
To uninstall it I opened my control panel and it saw that I have Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x86) installed already, assuming it comes with the computer I bought, and the date of installation matches this. I can't find though where it is stored so I can't open it.
When downloading Visual Studio 2008, it says I need to uninstall previous Visual Studio versions.
Bottom line:
Should I uninstall the Visual 2012 (x86) that probably came with the computer (which is 64bit)? Or should I use it (and try to find where is it located)?
If I shouldn't use the 2012: Was the 2008 version I tried to install good? (2008 gives an "old" intuition, but just my intuition).
Is there an easy way to find out where the application is located for excecution? Any specific file to look for?
thank you
You want to download thee actual Visual Studio IDE from http://www.visualstudio.com/ . Try downloading the free Community Edition for a start.
The Visual Studio redistributable packages are actually the minimal runtime libraries to run C++ programs that were compiled with visual studio. You got a version installed by default even on fresh computers, otherwise you can't run many programs (they are also included with the IDE).
The redistributables are also often bundled with installers to make sure that others can run your programs.
The VC++ Redistributable packages only include the libraries required to run applications built with the respective version of Visual Studio (for example Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable is for Visual Studio 2012).
It does not include any version of Visual Studio.
You could uninstall Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x86) but however as it was preinstalled on your computer, I imagine that some program pre-installed by the computer manufacturer requires it. It's probably not a good idea to remove that.
So no, it's not a good idea to remove it.
In order to use the 2012 version of Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable you should install the vs120 compiler, aka the VC++ compiler that comes with Microsoft Visual Studio 2012.
For developing with Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, using Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable is completely fine as it matches the compiler version. However if you want to use the newer 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2015 versions you need to use those respective versions of the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable.
If you wish to use an up-to-date version of Visual Studio, try the Visual Studio 2013 Community Edition, or if you're feeling adventurous try the Visual Studio 2015 Release Candidate.
The application you built is always located in the project's directory, under /Debug or /Release, depending on whether you built a debug or release version of the application. If you do not know where your project folder is located you may right-click your project in the File pane and click Open folder in Windows Explorer.

Use VS2008 (v90) C++ toolset in VS2013?

MS documentation explains how to use 2010 or 2012 toolsets in VS2013.
Does anyone know if there is also backwards support for the 2008 toolset? I am upgrading several projects from 2008 to 2013 but my team lead would like us to upgrade the project files initially but still target the same compiler/runtime as 2008.
Is this possible?
The VS2008 install on its own doesn't properly setup the toolset directory/registry. This prevents later version of VS from locating the v90 tools.
If you install the VS2010 C++ compiler toolset it will include the v90 toolset as well. After doing this I am able to build in VS2013 with the VS2008 toolset. This can be done by installing VS2010 itself or installing the Windows 7.1 SDK which includes the 2010 toolsets (v90 and v100).
Reference:
MSDN
I get the option to select VS 2008 (v90) as a Platform Toolset for my VC++ projects in VS 2013. I did nothing special (other than VS 2008 was installed when I installed VS2013).

Compile in Visual Studio 2013 for Visual Studio 2010 Redistributables

I have installed MS VS Express 2013 on my office computer, and compiled a DLL with it. Now when my colleague is trying to use it, she gets an error about a missing MSVCR120.DLL. We have found MSVCR100.DLL on her PC. I know that we can get MSVCR120.DLL from Microsoft. However
it will probably require admin rights, and only I have them in our team. I wonder if I can ask VS 2013 to compile the DLL so that it uses older version of redistributables? Or is installing the previous version of VS the only solution?
I found the solution — here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/1073772/674976. The distributable DLL can be statically linked to my DLL, thus removing the dependence. This is done in VS 2013 in Project Properties (Alt + F7) > Configuration Properties > C/C++ > Code Generation > Runtime Library, which should be set to Multi-threaded (/MT) from the default Multi-threaded DLL (/MD).
However, I wonder if by doing so I am actually still using redistributable DLLs of two versions and thus risk mixing the heaps and potentially causing memory allocation problems.
If someone suggests a better solution or a clear explanation why I should simply use Visual Studio 2010, I'll be happy to accept it is an answer.
Visual Studio 2013 can build Visual Studio 2010 C++ projects. To do this, you need to also have Visual Studio 2010 installed, because VS2013 will actually call the VS2010 C++ compiler.
What I have done to accomplish this is to create the solution and all the projects in Visual Studio 2010 and make sure that they build and run correctly. Then open them in Visual Studio 2013 and make sure to NOT upgrade the projects to VS2013.
Now you can use the latest tool and still build the VS2010 dlls that you need.

Can I use build against the 2008 VS Runtime with VS 2010 and no copy of VS 2008?

It looks like using Visual Studio 2010 it is possible to build against the 2008 runtime, if you have both editions installed: Can I use Visual Studio 2010's C++ compiler with Visual Studio 2008's C++ Runtime Library?
Is it possible to do this using just the free Windows Platform SDKs and VS 2010? Just to stress - installing Visual Studio 2008 is not an option.
Background: I'd like to build a Python module for Python 2.7. I have a copy of Visual Studio 2010, but Python 2.7 (specifically the Python(x,y) distribution) is built using 2008. Rebuilding Python, or rebuilding Python(x,y) is not something I want to get into (there are various other modules I want to use as well). My module needs to link against vendor-supplied libraries built using VS 2008/2010 (I've been given both sets of libraries). I don't own a copy of Visual Studio 2008, and I really don't want to have to buy one.
This MSDN article says that although you can change the platform toolset in the IDE you still need to have the VS2008 binaries installed.
I know you said installing 2008 was not an option but perhaps you can still find the free versions in an old SDK or even the Express version on the Microsoft website.