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. I extensively used C & C in my competitive programming years and wanted a better support for debugging & intellisense. Only options available were Dev-C(outdated) and the original 'Mammoth' Visual Studio. Lately, I found VScode and fell in love with it (Atom also only till I found VScode).
-->This step-by-step walkthrough shows how to create a static library (.lib file) for use with C++ apps. Using a static library is a great way to reuse code. Rather than reimplementing the same routines in every app that requires the functionality, you write them one time in a static library and then reference it from the apps. Code linked from a static library becomes part of your app—you don't have to install another file to use the code.
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This walkthrough covers these tasks:
Prerequisites
An understanding of the fundamentals of the C++ language.
Create a static library project
The instructions for how to create the project vary depending on your version of Visual Studio. To see the documentation for your preferred version of Visual Studio, use the Version selector control. It's found at the top of the table of contents on this page.
To create a static library project in Visual Studio 2019
- On the menu bar, choose File > New > Project to open the Create a New Project dialog box.
- At the top of the dialog, set Language to C++, set Platform to Windows, and set Project type to Library.
- From the filtered list of project types, select Windows Desktop Wizard, then choose Next.
- In the Configure your new project page, enter MathLibrary in the Project name box to specify a name for the project. Enter StaticMath in the Solution name box. Choose the Create button to open the Windows Desktop Project dialog.
- In the Windows Desktop Project dialog, under Application type, select Static Library (.lib).
- Under Additional options, uncheck the Precompiled header check box if it's checked. Check the Empty project box.
- Choose OK to create the project.
To create a static library project in Visual Studio 2017
- On the menu bar, choose File > New > Project.
- In the New Project dialog box, select Installed > Visual C++ > Windows Desktop. In the center pane, select Windows Desktop Wizard.
- Specify a name for the project—for example, MathLibrary—in the Name box. Specify a name for the solution—for example, StaticMath—in the Solution Name box. Choose the OK button.
- In the Windows Desktop Project dialog, under Application type, select Static Library (.lib).
- Under Additional Options, uncheck the Precompiled header check box if it's checked. Check the Empty project box.
- Choose OK to create the project.
To create a static library project in Visual Studio 2015
- On the menu bar, choose File > New > Project.
- In the New Project dialog box, select Installed > Templates > Visual C++ > Win32. In the center pane, select Win32 Console Application.
- Specify a name for the project—for example, MathLibrary—in the Name box. Specify a name for the solution—for example, StaticMath—in the Solution Name box. Choose the OK button.
- In the Win32 Application Wizard, choose Next.
- In the Application Settings page, under Application type, select Static library. Under Additional options, uncheck the Precompiled header checkbox. Download massive vst plugin for fl studio. Choose Finish to create the project.
Add a class to the static library
To add a class to the static library
- To create a header file for a new class, right-click to open the shortcut menu for the MathLibrary project in Solution Explorer, and then choose Add > New Item.
- In the Add New Item dialog box, select Visual C++ > Code. In the center pane, select Header File (.h). Specify a name for the header file—for example, MathLibrary.h—and then choose the Add button. A nearly blank header file is displayed.
- Add a declaration for a class named
Arithmetic
to do common mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The code should resemble: - To create a source file for the new class, open the shortcut menu for the MathLibrary project in Solution Explorer, and then choose Add > New Item.
- In the Add New Item dialog box, in the center pane, select C++ File (.cpp). Specify a name for the source file—for example, MathLibrary.cpp—and then choose the Add button. A blank source file is displayed.
- Use this source file to implement the functionality for class
Arithmetic
. The code should resemble: - To build the static library, select Build > Build Solution on the menu bar. The build creates a static library, MathLibrary.lib, that can be used by other programs.NoteWhen you build on the Visual Studio command line, you must build the program in two steps. First, run
cl /c /EHsc MathLibrary.cpp
to compile the code and create an object file that's named MathLibrary.obj. (Thecl
command invokes the compiler, Cl.exe, and the/c
option specifies compile without linking. For more information, see /c (Compile Without Linking).) Second, runlib MathLibrary.obj
to link the code and create the static library MathLibrary.lib. (Thelib
command invokes the Library Manager, Lib.exe. For more information, see LIB Reference.)
Create a C++ console app that references the static library
To create a C++ console app that references the static library in Visual Studio 2019
- In Solution Explorer, right-click on the top node, Solution 'StaticMath', to open the shortcut menu. Choose Add > New Project to open the Add a New Project dialog box.
- At the top of the dialog, set the Project type filter to Console.
- From the filtered list of project types, choose Console App then choose Next. In the next page, enter MathClient in the Name box to specify a name for the project.
- Choose the Create button to create the client project.
- After you create a console app, an empty program is created for you. The name for the source file is the same as the name that you chose earlier. In the example, it's named
MathClient.cpp
.
To create a C++ console app that references the static library in Visual Studio 2017
- In Solution Explorer, right-click on the top node, Solution 'StaticMath', to open the shortcut menu. Choose Add > New Project to open the Add a New Project dialog box.
- In the Add New Project dialog box, select Installed > Visual C++ > Windows Desktop. In the center pane, select Windows Desktop Wizard.
- Specify a name for the project—for example, MathClient—in the Name box. Choose the OK button.
- In the Windows Desktop Project dialog, under Application type, select Console Application (.exe).
- Under Additional Options, uncheck the Precompiled header check box if it's checked.
- Choose OK to create the project.
- After you create a console app, an empty program is created for you. The name for the source file is the same as the name that you chose earlier. In the example, it's named
MathClient.cpp
.
To create a C++ console app that references the static library in Visual Studio 2015
- In Solution Explorer, right-click on the top node, Solution 'StaticMath', to open the shortcut menu. Choose Add > New Project to open the Add a New Project dialog box.
- In the Add New Project dialog box, select Installed > Visual C++ > Win32. In the center pane, select Win32 Console Application.
- Specify a name for the project—for example, MathClient—in the Name box. Choose the OK button.
- In the Win32 Application Wizard dialog, choose Next.
- On the Application Settings page, under Application type, make sure Console application is selected. Under Additional options, uncheck Precompiled header, then check the Empty Project checkbox. Choose Finish to create the project.
- To add a source file to the empty project, right-click to open the shortcut menu for the MathClient project in Solution Explorer, and then choose Add > New Item.
- In the Add New Item dialog box, select Visual C++ > Code. In the center pane, select C++ File (.cpp). Specify a name for the source file—for example, MathClient.cpp—and then choose the Add button. A blank source file is displayed.
Use the functionality from the static library in the app
To use the functionality from the static library in the app
- Before you can use the math routines in the static library, you must reference it. Open the shortcut menu for the MathClient project in Solution Explorer, and then choose Add > Reference.
- The Add Reference dialog box lists the libraries that you can reference. The Projects tab lists the projects in the current solution and any libraries they reference. Open the Projects tab, select the MathLibrary check box, and then choose the OK button.
- To reference the
MathLibrary.h
header file, you must modify the included directories path. In Solution Explorer, right-click on MathClient to open the shortcut menu. Choose Properties to open the MathClient Property Pages dialog box. - In the MathClient Property Pages dialog box, set the Configuration drop-down to All Configurations. Set the Platform drop-down to All Platforms.
- Select the Configuration Properties > C/C++ > General property page. In the Additional Include Directories property, specify the path of the MathLibrary directory, or browse for it.To browse for the directory path:
- Open the Additional Include Directories property value drop-down list, and then choose Edit.
- In the Additional Include Directories dialog box, double-click in the top of the text box. Then choose the ellipsis button (..) at the end of the line.
- In the Select Directory dialog box, navigate up a level, and then select the MathLibrary directory. Then choose the Select Folder button to save your selection.
- In the Additional Include Directories dialog box, choose the OK button.
- In the Property Pages dialog box, choose the OK button to save your changes to the project.
- You can now use the
Arithmetic
class in this app by including the#include 'MathLibrary.h'
header in your code. Replace the contents ofMathClient.cpp
with this code: - To build the executable, choose Build > Build Solution on the menu bar.
Run the app
To run the app
- Make sure that MathClient is selected as the default project. To select it, right-click to open the shortcut menu for MathClient in Solution Explorer, and then choose Set as StartUp Project.
- To run the project, on the menu bar, choose Debug > Start Without Debugging. The output should resemble:
See also
Walkthrough: Creating and Using a Dynamic Link Library (C++)
Desktop Applications (Visual C++)
Desktop Applications (Visual C++)
A step-by-step guide to moving Microsoft VS projects to Eclipse C/C++ Development Toolkit
The Eclipse Platform is an open source tool to assist you with moving a project from the design to the test phase within a single development environment and without the need for separate tools for each stage. Eclipse was developed to assist the tools development community, concentrating on the core functionality of the tool instead of concentrating on the IDE itself. This is achievable because of programming model of Eclipse, which supports software building blocks called plug-ins.
Originally, Eclipse started with Java programming IDE, as it was the need of the hour. Because of its extensibility, it was embraced for developing applications for other programming languages, such as COBOL and C/C++.
The focus of this article is on C and C++ applications. Most C and C++ projects for deployment on Windows are developed using Microsoft Visual Studio. This article provides a step-by-step procedure for migrating Microsoft Visual Studio C/C++ (MSVC) projects to Eclipse. Along the way, we compare and contrast the benefits of using MSVC and Eclipse CDT.
Prerequisites
- Eclipse Platform
- Download Eclipse from the Eclipse Foundation.
- Eclipse C++ Development Toolkit (CDT)
- Get this Eclipse plug-in for C and C++ development (see About CDT).
- Visual Studio/Platform SDK
- This should be your current development IDE for C/C++ applications in Windows. The recent version of Platform SDK (MSVC Express) is undergoing some changes that restricts you to building executables in the conventional way using an nmake makefile. This article assumes you are building the executable through a makefile. Be sure to identify the version you are using.
See Related topics for links to download each.
Visual Studio and Eclipse compared
Microsoft Visual Studio has a long history with wide use among Windows application developers. It is the leader in C and C++ Microsoft Windows application development, as well. By contrast, Eclipse CDT is relatively new and quite popular these days in the developers community. Eclipse CDT is designed to satisfy the developers of many OS platforms, such as Linux®, and is dependent on the gcc compiler and other open source tools.
There are many ways of comparing Eclipse with Visual Studio. One can compare the user interface (UI), architecture, cost, manageability, and many other criteria. Since this article looks at C and C++ development, we compare and contrast the strengths of both the tools with respect to C and C++ application development for Windows.
C/C++ development compared on Windows
Microsoft Visual Studio C/C++ | Eclipse CDT | |
---|---|---|
Nature of license | Proprietary | Open source |
Programming languages supported | Specific to C/C++ and Microsoft-supported programming languages | Parallel different programming languages (COBOL, the Java programming language, and others), along with C/C++ |
SDLC phases supported | Only coding | Designing, coding, configuration management, testing, etc. |
Debugging | Complete debugging support | No debugging support; debugging support available only for gcc-compiled C code on platforms other than Windows. Microsoft Debugging Tools for Windows required |
Resource editor | Comprehensive resource editor | No resource editor |
Testing | No testing tools as part of Visual Studio; third-party tools must be used | CppUnit can be used (see Related topics for more information) |
MFC programming | Development support for MFC application (wizard, code templates, etc.) | No support |
Plug-in tools development | Visual Studio 6 does not support any plugable software components | Based on a plug-in architecture |
Tools specific to Microsoft Windows | Spy++, error look-up, ActiveX Container, and others | No tools specific for Windows platforms |
About CDT
Eclipse C++ Development Toolkit (CDT) is an extension to the Eclipse platform in the form of a plug-in. This plug-in is available for download for all platforms. The open source nature of the plug-in with its user-friendliness makes it more popular not just among the Linux developers but also among C++ developers on other platforms. CDT and the Web Tools plug-ins are the two most popular Eclipse plug-ins. Nearly two out of three developers using CDT are Windows users.
CDT has subcomponents or plug-ins that are independent projects in the CDT community. The most important is the CDT primary plug-in, which provides the core CDT capabilities. CDT Debug UI provides the UI capabilities for the debug editors and views. CDT UI plug-in provides the UI-related features, views, editors, wizards, etc. CDT Debug provides core debugging capabilities. CDT Feature provides CDT Feature component. CDT core presents Core Model, CDOM, and other core components. CDT Launch provides launch mechanism for launching external executables and tools. CDT Debug MI is the application connector for MI-compatible debuggers.
CDT editors have several features that make them popular. For example, syntax highlighting and code assist make software development quick and easy. Syntax highlighting is configurable and can be personalized to your individual taste. Code assist is the code completion feature that is similar to the one in Visual Studio. Custom-defined code templates can be added to the plug-in, which can be used by code assist.
In the following sections, we will learn how to use CDT effectively to migrate the Visual Studio projects to the Eclipse CDT Workbench.
VS to Eclipse
In this section, we migrate a simple HelloWorld Win32 application developed using Microsoft Visual C++ 6.
- If you do not have an existing Win32 application, create a HelloWorld Win32 application using Visual Studio. Create a makefile from the Projects > Export Makefile menu in Visual Studio.
Figure 1. Create a HelloWorld Win32 application using Visual Studio
- Start Eclipse and open the C/C++ perspective.
- Select Window > Open Perspective > Other
Figure 2a. Open the C/C++ perspective
- Select C/C++ perspective
Figure 2b. Select C/C++ perspective
Note: C/C++ perspective will be listed in the Select Perspective dialog only if the CDT plug-in is installed. - Select Window > Open Perspective > Other
- Create a standard C/C++ Make project via File > New > Standard Make C++ Project. Name the project HelloEclipse in the Project Name edit box in the New Project dialog that appears and click Finish.
Figure 3a. It's HelloWorld time
Figure 3b. Name your project HelloEclipse
- Now we have to import the files created by Visual Studio into Eclipse. Go to File > Import. Select Filesystem in the Import dialog and click Next. If the newly created project is not visible, go to Window > ShowView > C/C++ project.
Figure 4. Import the HelloWorld Visual Studio project files
Convert Dev C To Visual Studio Visual Studio 2015
- Browse to the directory where the Visual Studio project was created, select the *.c*, *.h*,*.rc,*.ico and the .mak file to be imported and click Finish.
Figure 5. Import the *.c*, *.h*,*.rc,*.ico and .mak files
- Addition of environment variables
Figure 6. Add environment variables
- Right-click on the project and select Properties. In the Properties for HelloEclipse dialog, select C/C++ Make Project on the left side, and add INCLUDE and LIB environment variables to point to Visual Studio's include and lib paths. If you are using the platform SDK, point to its include and lib directories.
Figure 7. Point the Visual Studio include and lib paths in the right direction
- Open the .mak file imported from the Visual Studio project and make the following changes:
- Change the configuration (CFG) from Debug to Release so we get a release version of the application. It would look like
CFG=HelloWin - Win32 Release
.Figure 8a. Change the configuration from Debug to Release
- Add the command for executing the application in the ALL: tag:
@cmd /c $(OUTDIR)$(EXENAME).exe
- Define
EXENAME=HelloWin
Figure 8b. Define EXENAME
- Change the configuration (CFG) from Debug to Release so we get a release version of the application. It would look like
- The next step is to create a new make target.
- Right-click on our current project and click on Create Make Target.
Figure 9a. Create a new make target
- Create a make target for our project. 'Target name' specifies any name you wish. 'Make target' specifies the .mak file we just modified in the previous step. 'Build command' is specified by unchecking the Use default checkbox in the build command so the build command is
nmake
. To make the Make targets view visible, go to Window > Show View > Make Targets.
Figure 9b. The make target should be HelloWin.mak
- Right-click on our current project and click on Create Make Target.
- Double-click on the HelloEclipse target we created to build and run the Win32 application.
Figure 10. Run the application
With VC++ 2005 Express, making many changes in the traditional Visual Studio C/C++, there is a project initiated at Eclipse to solve this issue. Visit Eclipse MSVC for details (see Related topics).
Challenges to Eclipse CDT as an IDE for Windows development
Let's look at the various challenges posed by Eclipse CDT in various phases of the software development cycle.
Design
UML has become the de-facto standard for representing and designing software applications using object-oriented languages. IBM offers two Eclipse-based Java development tools: Rational® Application Developer and Rational Rose® XDE Developer for Java technology. Both offer model-driven development with UML support, Java code round-trip engineering, automatic or on-demand model-code synchronization, and other helpful features. Though we have a UML plug-in for Eclipse, there is no tight integration between UML to C/C++ in Eclipse platform today.
Development
Visual Studio's most interesting feature is its resource editor. Whether it's the SDK or MFC resource editor, both are used extensively to develop the static UI controls for the application. Today, Eclipse CDT offers no support to develop a UI. Consider using the Eclipse visual editor project when generating .rc files for Windows development.
Microsoft changes its compilers between versions, which makes it a challenge for Eclipse CDT to support the various versions of SDK tools Microsoft releases.
It is not viable today for you to migrate MSVC code totally to open source. In Linux, such an undertaking is complex. The SDK tools of Microsoft cannot run on open source, such as Linux. The SDK tools have to be run within the Windows emulator to make the SDK tools run on Linux.
However currently in Windows platform, developers with the help of platform SDK, Eclipse CDT and Debugging Tools for Windows can see Eclipse platform as an alternative for MS Visual Studio.
Debugging
Visual Studio Dev Center
Eclipse CDT relies on GNU Debugger, GDB. GDB is a source-level debugger for C, C++, Ada, and other languages. Neither Eclipse nor GDB understand the debugging information generated by Microsoft compilers. As a result, it is a challenge to select CDT as a full-time development environment for Windows development. However, you can use Debugging Tools for Windows for debugging side by side with Eclipse as a development environment.
Testing
CppUnit is the testing framework for C/C++ similar to JUnit for Java. The CppUnit plug-in for Eclipse is also available and can be used side by side with CDT for testing the CPP code. See Related topics for a CppUnit tutorial.
Tools and other criteria
Apart from normal SDK development on Windows, Visual Studio supports many other developments, including DDK, .NET, WMI, Web development, IE component development, MDAC, and more. More contributions are expected in this space from Eclipse plug-in development community.
All open source tools, such as listdlls, process explorer, and task handler, can be considered to provide support inside Eclipse CDT, which can bridge this gap to a certain extent.
Conclusion
The growing popularity, versatility, and open source nature of Eclipse motivates many to embrace Eclipse as the development platform of the future. Nevertheless, porting Windows applications to use open source development tools like GCC, GDB, or GCC/GDB for Windows providing functionalities similar to Windows SDK is a nontrivial task today.
Otherwise, click OK.You can’t change your startup volume to an external FireWire or USB drive while you’re using Windows.To learn how to change the default operating system using macOS, see. In Windows on your Mac, do one of the following:.Restart using Startup Manager: Restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Option key. Mac mojave boot camp windows 10. .In Windows on your Mac, click in the right side of the taskbar, click the Boot Camp icon, then choose Boot Camp Control Panel.If a User Account Control dialog appears, click Yes.Select the startup disk that has the default operating system you want to use.If you want to start up using the default operating system now, click Restart.
However, Eclipse is an effective open source alternative to visual studio when we consider the entire SDLC phases. With more and more plug-ins supported in Eclipse for C/C++ application development in Windows, Eclipse CDT may become a default IDE for C/C++ development for Windows.
Downloadable resources
Convert Dev C++ To Visual Studios
Related topics
Convert Dev C++ To Visual Studio Free
- Read Brian Lee's Eclipse Project CDT (C/C++) Plugin Tutorial if you are new to CDT.
- See the CppUnit wiki to learn about the C++ unit testing framework for Eclipse.
- See the CDT wiki at Eclipse.org for a good starting page on all things CDT.
- Eclipse C/C++ Development Tooling contains links to CDT documentation and downloads.
- See CDT/designs/msvc at Eclipse.org to learn more about CDT and Microsoft Visual Studio.
- Download the Eclipse Platform and get started with Eclipse now.
- For an excellent introduction to the Eclipse platform, see 'Getting started with the Eclipse Platform.
- See the latest Eclipse technology downloads at IBM alphaWorks.
- Visit IBM developerWorks' Eclipse project resources to learn more about Eclipse.
- Innovate your next open source development project with IBM trial software, available for download or on DVD.