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Compiler Options | Microsoft Docs |
01/29/2018 |
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reference |
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ed3376c8-bef4-4c9a-80e9-3b5da232644c |
corob-msft |
corob |
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cl.exe is a tool that controls the Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) C and C++ compilers and linker. cl.exe can be run only on operating systems that support Microsoft Visual Studio for Windows.
Note
You can start this tool only from a Visual Studio developer command prompt. You cannot start it from a system command prompt or from File Explorer. For more information, see Build C/C++ code on the command line.
The compilers produce Common Object File Format (COFF) object (.obj) files. The linker produces executable (.exe) files or dynamic-link libraries (DLLs).
Note that all compiler options are case sensitive. You may use either a forward slash (/) or a dash (-) to specify a compiler option.
To compile without linking, use the /c option.
To find a particular compiler option, see one of the following lists:
The topic for each compiler option discusses how it can be set in the development environment. For information on specifying options outside the development environment, see:
Linker options also affect how your program is built.
C/C++ Building Reference
Setting Compiler Options
Fast Compilation
CL Invokes the Linker