Q154753: INFO: What Are the C/C++ Libraries My Program Would Link With?
Article: Q154753
Product(s): Microsoft C Compiler
Version(s): 4.2,5.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbCompiler kbGenInfo kbLangCPP kbVC420 kbVC500 kbVC600 kbArtTypeINF
Last Modified: 28-MAY-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition, versions 4.2, 5.0
- Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition, versions 4.2, 5.0
- Microsoft Visual C++.NET (2002)
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SUMMARY
=======
This article describes the default libraries LIBC[D].LIB, LIBCMT[D].LIB,
LIBCI[D].LIB, LIBCIMT[D].LIB, LIBCP[D].LIB, LIBCPMT[D].LIB, MSVCRT[D].LIB,
MSVCIRT[D].LIB, and MSVCPRT[D].LIB that a program will link with when built
using Visual C++.
MORE INFORMATION
================
When you build a release (or debug) version of your project in Visual C++, one
of the basic C Runtime libraries (LIBC[D].LIB, LIBCMT[D].LIB, and MSVCRT[D].LIB)
is linked by default, depending on the compiler option you choose
(single-threaded <ML[d]>, multithreaded <MT[d]>, or multithreaded
DLL<MD[d]>). A library from the Standard C++ Library or one from the old
iostream library may also be linked depending on the headers you use in your
code. For example, consider the following cases:
Case 1: Sample program test1.cpp
--------------------------------
// test1.cpp
void main()
{
}
- If you build test.cpp using the /ML (or /MLd, for a debug build) compiler
option, your program will link with LIBC.LIB (or LIBCD.LIB, for debug build),
in addition to other libraries.
- If you build test.cpp using the /MT (or /MTd, for a debug build) compiler
option, your program will link with LIBCMT.LIB (or LIBCMTD.LIB, for debug
build), in addition to other libraries.
- If you build test.cpp using the /MD (or /MDd, for a debug build)compiler
option, your program will link with MSVCRT.LIB (or MSVCRTD.LIB, for debug
build), in addition to other libraries. In this case, your program will be
dependent on MSVCRT.DLL (or MSVCRTD.DLL for debug build).
Case 2: Sample program test2.cpp
--------------------------------
// test2.cpp
#include <iostream>
void main()
{
}
- If you build test.cpp using the /ML (or /MLd, for a debug build) compiler
option, your program will link with LIBC.LIB (or LIBCD.LIB, for debug build)
and LIBCP.LIB (or LIBCPD.LIB, for debug build), in addition to other
libraries.
- If you build test.cpp using the /MT (or /MTd, for a debug build) compiler
option, your program will link with LIBCMT.LIB (or LIBCMTD.LIB, for debug
build) and LIBCPMT.LIB (or LIBCPMTD.LIB, for debug build), in addition to
other libraries.
- If you build test.cpp using the /MD (or /MDd, for a debug build) compiler
option, your program will link with MSVCRT.LIB (or MSVCRTD.LIB, for debug
build) and MSVCPRT.LIB (or MSVCPRTD.LIB, for debug build), in addition to
other libraries. For Visual C++ 6.0, your program will be dependent on
MSVCRT.DLL and MSVCP60.DLL (or MSVCRTD.DLL and MSVCP60D.DLL for debug build).
For Visual C++ 5.0, your program will be dependent on MSVCRT.DLL and
MSVCP50.DLL (or MSVCRTD.DLL and MSVCP50D.DLL for debug build). For Visual C++
4.2, your program will be dependent on MSVCRT.DLL (or MSVCRTD.DLL for debug
build) and MSVCPRT.LIB (or MSVCPRTD.LIB, for debug build).
Case 3: Sample program test3.cpp
--------------------------------
// test.cpp
#include <iostream.h>
void main()
{
}
- If you build test.cpp using the /ML (or /MLd, for a debug build) compiler
option, your program will link with LIBC.LIB (or LIBCD.LIB, for debug build)
and LIBCI.LIB (or LIBCID.LIB, for debug build), in addition to other
libraries.
- If you build test.cpp using the /MT (or /MTd, for a debug build) compiler
option, your program will link with LIBCMT.LIB (or LIBCMTD.LIB, for debug
build) and LIBCIMT.LIB (or LIBCIMTD.LIB, for debug build), in addition to
other libraries.
- If you build test.cpp using the /MD (or /MDd, for a debug build) compiler
option, your program will link with MSVCRT.LIB (or MSVCRTD.LIB, for debug
build) and MSVCIRT.LIB (or MSVCIRTD.LIB, for debug build) in addition to
other libraries. In this case, your program will be dependent on MSVCRT.DLL
(or MSVCRTD.DLL for debug build) and MSVCIRT.DLL (or MSVCIRTD.DLL for debug
build).
Headers determine whether the Standard C++ libraries, old iostream libraries, or
neither will be linked. Compiler options (/ML[d], /MT[d], /MD[d]) determine
which version of the libraries single-threaded, multithreaded, or multithreaded
DLL is to be linked by default.
NOTE: It may seem that headers without the ".h" extension are Standard C++
headers and that headers with the ".h" extension are C Runtime headers or old
iostream headers. This is not true. As explained below, the files
<useoldio.h> and <use_ansi.h> determine the libraries your
application will link with.
Actually, there are two header files, <useoldio.h> and <use_ansi.h>,
that contain #pragmas. The #pragmas force either the old iostream library or the
Standard C++ library to be linked in by default.
The header file <useoldio.h> contains #pragma statements, which force the
old iostream library to be linked in. All old iostream headers include
<useoldio.h>. So, if you include any old iostream header in your
application, the old iostream library will be linked by default. The following
table lists all the header files that include <useoldio.h>.
Old iostream Headers
--------------------
FSTREAM.H IOMANIP.H
IOS.H IOSTREAM.H
ISTREAM.H OSTREAM.H
STDIOSTR.H STREAMB.H
STRSTREA.H
The header file <use_ansi.h> contains #pragma statements that force the
Standard C++ Library to be linked in. All Standard C++ Headers include
<use_ansi.h>. So if you include any Standard C++ header in your
application, the Standard C++ library will be linked by default. The following
table lists all the header files that include <use_ansi.h>.
Standard C++ Headers
------------------------------------------------------
ALGORITHM BITSET COMPLEX DEQUE
FSTREAM FUNCTIONAL IOMANIP IOS
IOSFWD IOSTREAM ISTREAM ITERATOR
LIMITS LIST LOCALE MAP
MEMORY NUMERIC OSTREAM QUEUE
SET SSTREAM STACK STDEXCEPT
STREAMBUF STRING STRSTREAM TYPEINFO
UTILITY VALARRAY VECTOR XIOSBASE
XLOCALE XLOCINFO XLOCMON XLOCNUM
XLOCTIME XMEMORY XSTRING XTREE
XUTILITY YMATH.H
You cannot mix calls to the old iostream library and the new Standard C++ Library
in Visual C++ 4.2.
Summary Table
------------------------------------------------------------------
| Compile Old New IOStream Libraries |
| Option IOStream or STL Linked With |
|================================================================|
| /ML No No LIBC.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MLd No No LIBCD.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MT No No LIBCMT.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MTd No No LIBCMTD.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MD No No MSVCRT.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MDd No No MSVCRTD.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /ML No Yes LIBC.LIB, LIBCP.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MLd No Yes LIBCD.LIB, LIBCPD.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MT No Yes LIBCMT.LIB, LIBCPMT.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MTd No Yes LIBCMTD.LIB, LIBCPMTD.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MD No Yes MSVCRT.LIB, MSVCPRT.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MDd No Yes MSVCRTD.LIB, MSVCPRTD.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /ML Yes No LIBC.LIB, LIBCI.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MLd Yes No LIBCD.LIB, LIBCID.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MT Yes No LIBCMT.LIB, LIBCIMT.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MTd Yes No LIBCMTD.LIB, LIBCIMTD.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MD Yes No MSVCRT.LIB, MSVCIRT.LIB |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| /MDd Yes No MSVCRTD.LIB, MSVCIRTD.LIB |
------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary Table for CRT DLLs Used
---------------------------------------------------
| Import Library DLLs Used DLLs Used |
| Linked With (VC 5.0|6.0) (VC 4.2) |
|=================================================|
| MSVCRT.LIB MSVCRT.DLL MSVCRT.DLL |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| MSVCRTD.LIB MSVCRTD.DLL MSVCRTD.DLL |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| MSVCPRT.LIB MSVCP5(5|6)0.DLL |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| MSVCPRTD.LIB MSVCP5(5|6)0D.DLL |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| MSVCIRT.LIB MSVCIRT.DLL MSVCIRT.DLL |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| MSVCIRTD.LIB MSVCIRTD.DLL MSVCIRTD.DLL |
---------------------------------------------------
REFERENCES
==========
For additional information, click the article number below to view the article
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q154419 INFO: Standard C++ Library Frequently Asked Questions
Additional query words: MSVCRT.DLL MSVCIRT.DLL MSVCPRT.LIB LIBCI.LIB LIBCIMT.LIB LIBCP.LIB LIBCPMT.LIB
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Keywords : kbCompiler kbGenInfo kbLangCPP kbVC420 kbVC500 kbVC600 kbArtTypeINF
Technology : kbVCsearch kbAudDeveloper kbVC420 kbVC500 kbVC32bitSearch kbVCNET kbVC500Search
Version : :4.2,5.0
Issue type : kbinfo
=============================================================================
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