ANSWERS.TXT File Commonly Asked Questions About Microsoft(R) C/C++, Version 7.

0 (C) Copyright Microsoft Corporation, 1992 This document contains answers to common questions posed by first-time users of Microsoft C/C++ version 7.0 and its libraries for MS-DOS(R) and Microsoft Windows(TM) operating systems. ================================< Contents >================================ This file is divided into three parts: Part ---1 2 3 Title ----Setup and Configuration Questions Compiler and Languages Questions Documentation Questions

================< Part 1: Setup and Configuration Questions >=============== Q: How can I set up my system to ensure the fastest possible compile times? A: Here are four tips for fast compiling: 1. Use Precompiled Headers Because the compiler spends a lot of time processing header files, precompiled headers can speed compilation significantly, especially when used with the fast compile option. This speed increase is particularly important when you include large header files, such as WINDOWS.H or the Microsoft Foundation Class header files. Three compiler options let you take advantage of precompiled headers: /Yc (create precompiled header), /Yu (use precompiled header), and /Yd (include debugging information). For details, see Chapter 2, "Using Precompiled Header Files," in the "Programming Techniques" manual. 2. Use the Fast Compile Option The fast compile option (/f) increases compilation speed by eliminating some of the optimizations performed in a release compilation. During the development phase of a project, when execution speed is less important than build time, these fast compilations can dramatically boost your productivity. As a given portion of code stabilizes, you can use the optimizing compiler to obtain faster, smaller code.

The fast compile option is on by default if you do not select any optimizations (the /O options). Explicitly disabling optimizations using the /Od option also implies /f. Note: The fast compile option does not impose capacity limitations on the optimizing compiler. See the README.TXT file for the most current information on the fast compile option. 3. Use a Disk Caching Program Microsoft C/C++ includes SMARTDRV 4.0, a sophisticated disk caching program that significantly outperforms earlier versions of SMARTDRV. The new SMARTDRV is installed in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file by the Microsoft C/C++ Setup program. You should use SMARTDRV 4.0 in place of earlier versions. SMARTDRV 4.0 dramatically speeds up compile and link times compared to other disk caching programs. Using RAMDRIVE.SYS to create one or more RAM drives may limit the memory assigned to your SMARTDRV cache. For best system performance, consider assigning more memory to SMARTDRV and less to RAMDRIVE. SMARTDRV 4.0 is more flexible and efficient in the way it uses memory than RAMDRIVE under such conditions. 4. Use a RAM Disk Program If you don't use SMARTDRV 4.0, try using a RAM disk program, such as RAMDRIVE.SYS, to store the compiler's intermediate files in RAM instead of on disk. To use this RAM disk, be sure to specify its drive designator in the TMP environment variable. To learn more about setting environment variables, see Chapter 3, "Configuring Your System," in the "Getting Started" manual. Q: How do I copy a single file from the installation disks onto my machine? A: There are two ways to copy a single file from the installation disks. One method is to use the Setup program that installs C/C++ for MS-DOS only. The other method is to use the DECOMP utility provided with the Profiler. To use the MS-DOS Setup program: 1. Exit the Windows environment. 2. Insert Disk1 into drive A. 3. Type A:CSETUP.EXE and select the "Copy a file from the distribution disks" option. 4. Follow the instructions for installing one or more files. To use the DECOMP utility provided on the Profiler Disk 1 installation disk, use the following syntax:

DECOMP srcFile destFile where srcFile is the file (or files) to be copied and destFile is the destination on your hard disk. For additional information, type DECOMP /? at the command line to see Help on the DECOMP utility. Q: Since the /double_buffer option used with SMARTDRV.EXE can slow performance in some instances, how can I determine if I really need it? A: The Setup program always installs SMARTDRV.EXE with the /double_buffer option. To determine if this option is needed on your computer, see the information on SMARTDRV.EXE that begins on page 25 of the "Getting Started" manual. Q: When I press CTRL+C at a linker prompt, LINK does not terminate. Why not? A: After you press CTRL+C, press ENTER. The program then terminates. Pressing the ENTER key is necessary because DOS-extended programs respond differently to CTRL+C at an input prompt than do MS-DOS programs. This is most likely to occur when using the linker, but it can also occur at an input prompt in any DOS-extended program. DOS-extended programs in C/C++ 7.0 include the compiler, linker, CVPACK,MPC, and BSCMAKE. ================< Part 2: Compiler and Languages Questions >================= Q: I'm trying to use object files that I compiled with a previous version of Microsoft C, but I'm getting LINK error "L2029: unresolved external" for the run-time library functions. What's wrong? A: For full ANSI compatibility, all non-ANSI run-time functions, constants, variables, typedefs, structures, and macros in the new Microsoft include files begin with a single underscore (_). However, not all non-ANSI symbols in older Microsoft C include files began with an underscore. For example, since the function named "read" in older Microsoft include files is not an ANSI function, it is now named "_read." Your old object file contains symbols that do not begin with the correct number of underscores. The solution is to use the new OLDNAMES.LIB library, which contains alias records that map the old names to the new names (for example, "read" maps to "_read"). This aliasing happens at link time so there is no time or space overhead in the resulting executable file. Only programs that use non-ANSI symbols require linking with OLDNAMES.LIB. For more information about OLDNAMES.LIB, see "ANSI Compatibility" on page x of the "Introduction" to the "Run-Time Library Reference" manual.

Q: I'm trying to build an MFC sample program and I get a compilation error stating that WINDOWS.H cannot be found. What should I do? A. The Windows 3.1 Software Development Kit contains the necessary files. Run the installation program for the SDK. Q: When building an MFC sample program, the compiler generates an error regarding redefinition of NEAR, FAR, and CDECL. What does this mean? A. The compiler is accessing the wrong version of WINDOWS.H. Make sure you are using the version of WINDOWS.H that shipped with C/C++. Q: I'm trying to link C++ object files with C object files, but I'm getting LINK error "L2029: unresolved external" for some of my functions. What's wrong? A: If you are going to call C functions from a C++ module, you must declare those C functions as extern "C" in the C++ module. If you are going to call C++ functions from a C module, you must declare those C++ functions as extern "C" in the C++ module. If you are writing a DLL in C++, you must also declare all exported functions as extern "C". Q: When PWB is building my application, CTRL+C does not cancel the build. Why not? A: Your CONFIG.SYS file needs the statement BREAK=ON for CTRL+C to be recognized. Q: Does Microsoft C/C++ support 32-bit programming? A: The current version of the compiler does not support 32-bit programming. However, 32-bit programming will be supported in a future release of the compiler. Q: Is the Microsoft implementation of C++ fully compliant with the ANSI draft specification for the C++ language? A: Microsoft C++ is fully compliant with "The Annotated C++ Reference Manual" by Ellis & Stroustrup (published by AddisonWesley Publishing Company), with two exceptions: a class must be defined before a pointer to member of that class can be declared, and local classes are not supported (local classes without member functions are treated as global classes, and local classes with member functions generate the compiler error "C2601: functions cannot be defined in local classes"). Q: Does Microsoft C/C++ support templates (parameterized types)? A: The current version of the compiler does not support templates.

Templates will be supported in a future release of the compiler. The Microsoft Foundation Classes provide an example program named TEMPLDEF.CPP, which implements a subset of the template facility. For more information about this example program, see the contents of the directory \C700\MFC\SAMPLES\TEMPLDEF and the file TN004.TXT in the directory \C700\MFC\DOC. (The MFC directories are present only if you chose to install the Microsoft Foundation Classes when running Setup.) Note that this program is only an example, and the syntax it supports may change in the future. Q: Does Microsoft C/C++ support exception handling? A: The current version of the compiler does not support exception handling. Exception handling will be supported in a future release of the compiler. The Microsoft Foundation Classes provide an exception-handling facility that is similar to the one proposed by the ANSI committee. For more information about this facility, see Chapter 12 of the "Class Libraries User's Guide", and the CException class in the "Class Libraries Reference." ====================< Part 3: Documentation Questions >===================== Q: Where can I find a summary of the compiler options and other new features included in Microsoft C/C++ version 7.0? A: See Chapter 1 of "Getting Started," and Appendix C of the "C Language Reference." Q: The documentation set is so large--how can I find what I'm looking for? A: There is a topical overview of the Microsoft C/C++ documentation in Chapter 1 of "Getting Started." You might also want to spend a few minutes browsing through the comprehensive index (a combined index to all the C/C++ books) in the "Comprehensive Index and Errors Reference" manual. Q: Where is the Windows documentation? A: The Microsoft Foundation Classes provide classes for writing Windows programs in C++. You can find information on these classes in the "Class Libraries User's Guide" manual, the "Class Libraries Reference" manual, and in Help. When you install the Windows 3.1 SDK, you can request that Help be installed for the Windows programming tools. Unless you request different directory locations during installation, the help files can be found in C700\HELP and in C700\BIN.

Q: Where can I find a list of the errors returned by the compiler and utilities? A: See the "Comprehensive Index and Errors Reference" manual or Help. ============================================================================ Microsoft, MS, and MS-DOS are registered trademarks, and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.