.. Copyright David Abrahams 2006. Distributed under the Boost
.. Software License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying
.. file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt)

=======================================
 |(logo)|__ Getting Started on Windows
=======================================

.. |(logo)| image:: ../../boost.png
   :alt: Boost
   :class: boost-logo

__ ../../index.htm

.. section-numbering::

.. Admonition:: A note to Cygwin_ and MinGW_ users

  If you plan to use your tools from the Windows command prompt,
  you're in the right place.  If you plan to build from the Cygwin_
  bash shell, you're actually running on a POSIX platform and
  should follow the instructions for `getting started on Unix
  variants`_.  Other command shells, such as MinGW_\ 's MSYS, are
  not supported—they may or may not work.

  .. _`Getting Started on Unix Variants`: unix-variants.html
  .. _Cygwin: http://www.cygwin.com
  .. _MinGW: http://mingw.org

.. Contents:: Index

Get Boost
=========

The easiest way to get a copy of Boost is to use the `installer`_
provided by `Boost Consulting`_.  We especially recommend this
method if you use Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 or Microsoft
Visual Studio 2005, because the installer can download and install
precompiled library binaries, saving you the trouble of building
them yourself.  To complete this tutorial, you'll need to at least
install the Boost.Regex_ binaries when given the option.

.. _installer: http://www.boost-consulting.com/download/windows
.. _Boost Consulting: http://www.boost-consulting.com

If you're using an earlier version of Visual Studio or some other
compiler, or if you prefer to build everything yourself, you can
download |boost.exe|_ and run it to install a complete Boost
distribution. [#zip]_

.. |boost.exe| replace:: |boost_ver|\ ``.exe``

.. _`boost.exe`: `sf-download`_

.. include:: detail/distro.rst

.. include:: detail/header-only.rst

.. include:: detail/build-simple-head.rst

.. _`command prompt`:
.. _`command-line tool`:

.. Note:: To build the examples in this guide, you can use an
   Integrated Development Environment (IDE) like Visual Studio, or
   you can issue commands from the `command prompt`_.  Since every
   IDE and compiler has different options and Microsoft's are by
   far the dominant compilers on Windows, we only give specific
   directions here for Visual Studio 2005 and .NET 2003 IDEs and
   their respective command prompt compilers (using the command
   prompt is a bit simpler).  If you are using another compiler or
   IDE, it should be relatively easy to adapt these instructions to
   your environment.

.. sidebar:: Command Prompt Basics
   :class: small

   In Windows, a command-line tool is invoked by typing its name,
   optionally followed by arguments, into a *Command Prompt* window
   and pressing the Return (or Enter) key.

   To open a generic *Command Prompt*, click the *Start* menu
   button, click *Run*, type “cmd”, and then click *OK*.

   .. _current directory:

   All commands are executed within the context of a **current
   directory** in the filesystem.  To set the current directory,
   type:

   .. parsed-literal::

      cd *path*\ \\\ *to*\ \\\ *some*\ \\\ *directory*

   followed by Return.  For example,

   .. parsed-literal::

      cd |default-root|

   Long commands can be continued across several lines by typing a
   caret (``^``) at the end of all but the last line.  Some examples
   on this page use that technique to save horizontal space.

.. _vs-header-only:

Build From the Visual Studio IDE
--------------------------------

* From Visual Studio's *File* menu, select *New* > *Project…*
* In the left-hand pane of the resulting *New Project* dialog,
  select *Visual C++* > *Win32*.
* In the right-hand pane, select *Win32 Console Application*
  (VS8.0) or *Win32 Console Project* (VS7.1).
* In the *name* field, enter “example”
* Right-click **example** in the *Solution Explorer* pane and
  select *Properties* from the resulting pop-up menu
* In *Configuration Properties* > *C/C++* > *General* > *Additional Include
  Directories*, enter the path to the Boost root directory, for example

    |default-root|

* In *Configuration Properties* > *C/C++* > *Precompiled Headers*, change
  *Use Precompiled Header (/Yu)* to *Not Using Precompiled
  Headers*. [#pch]_
* Replace the contents of the ``example.cpp`` generated by the IDE
  with the example code above.
* From the *Build* menu, select *Build Solution*.

To test your application, hit the F5 key and type the following
into the resulting window, followed by the Return key::

  1 2 3

Then hold down the control key and press "Z", followed by the
Return key.

|next|__

__ `Errors and Warnings`_

Or, Build From the Command Prompt
---------------------------------

From your computer's *Start* menu, if you are a Visual
Studio 2005 user, select

  *All Programs* > *Microsoft Visual Studio 2005* 
  > *Visual Studio Tools* > *Visual Studio 2005 Command Prompt*

or, if you're a Visual Studio .NET 2003 user, select

  *All Programs* > *Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003* 
  > *Visual Studio .NET Tools* > *Visual Studio .NET 2003 Command Prompt*

to bring up a special `command prompt`_ window set up for the
Visual Studio compiler.  In that window, set the `current
directory`_ to a suitable location for creating some temporary
files and type the following command followed by the Return key:

.. parsed-literal::

  cl /EHsc /I |root| *path*\ \\\ *to*\ \\example.cpp

To test the result, type:

.. parsed-literal::

  echo 1 2 3 | example

.. include:: detail/errors-and-warnings.rst

.. include:: detail/binary-head.rst

Install Visual Studio (2005 or .NET 2003) Binaries
--------------------------------------------------

The installer_ supplied by Boost Consulting will download and
install pre-compiled binaries into the ``lib\`` subdirectory of the
boost root, typically |default-root|\ ``\lib\``.  If you installed
all variants of the Boost.Regex_ binary, you're done with this
step.  Otherwise, please run the installer again and install them
now.

|next|__

__ `Link Your Program to a Boost Library`_

Or, Build Binaries From Source
------------------------------

If you're using an earlier version of Visual C++, or a compiler
from another vendor, you'll need to use Boost.Build_ to create your
own binaries.

.. include:: detail/build-from-source-head.rst

For example, your session might look like this: [#continuation]_

.. parsed-literal::

   C:\\WINDOWS> cd |default-root|
   |default-root|> bjam **^**
   More? **--build-dir=**\ C:\\temp\\build-boost **^**
   More? **--toolset=**\ msvc stage

.. include:: detail/build-from-source-tail.rst

.. _auto-linking:

.. include:: detail/link-head.rst

.. Admonition:: Auto-Linking

   Most Windows compilers and linkers have so-called “auto-linking
   support,” which eliminates the second challenge.  Special code in
   Boost header files detects your compiler options and uses that
   information to encode the name of the correct library into your
   object files; the linker selects the library with that name from
   the directories you've told it to search.

   The GCC toolchains (Cygwin and MinGW) are notable exceptions;
   GCC users should refer to the `linking instructions for Unix
   variant OSes`__ for the appropriate command-line options to use.

__ unix-variants.html#link-your-program-to-a-boost-library


Link From Within the Visual Studio IDE
--------------------------------------

Starting with the `header-only example project`__ we created
earlier:

__ vs-header-only_

1. Right-click **example** in the *Solution Explorer* pane and
   select *Properties* from the resulting pop-up menu
2. In *Configuration Properties* > *Linker* > *Additional Library
   Directories*, enter the path to the Boost binaries,
   e.g. |default-root|\ ``\lib\``.
3. From the *Build* menu, select *Build Solution*.

|next|__

__ `Test Your Program`_

Or, Link From the Command Prompt
--------------------------------

For example, we can compile and link the above program from the
Visual C++ command-line by simply adding the **bold** text below to
the command line we used earlier, assuming your Boost binaries are
in |default-root|\ ``\lib``:

.. parsed-literal::

   cl /EHsc /I |root| example.cpp   **^**
        **/link /LIBPATH:** |default-root-bold|\ **\\lib**

Library Naming
--------------

.. Note:: If, like Visual C++, your compiler supports auto-linking,
   you can probably |next|__.

     __ `Test Your Program`_

.. include:: detail/library-naming.rst

.. include:: detail/test-head.rst

Now, in a `command prompt`_ window, type:

.. parsed-literal::

   *path*\ \\\ *to*\ \\\ *compiled*\ \\example < *path*\ \\\ *to*\ \\\ jayne.txt

The program should respond with the email subject, “Will Success
Spoil Rock Hunter?”

.. include:: detail/conclusion.rst

------------------------------

.. [#zip] If you prefer not to download executable programs,
   download |boost.zip|_ and use an external tool to decompress
   it.  We don't recommend using Windows' built-in decompression as
   it can be painfully slow for large archives.

.. [#installer-src] If you used the installer_ from Boost
   Consulting and deselected “Source and Documentation”  (it's
   selected by default), you won't see the ``libs/`` subdirectory.
   That won't affect your ability to use precompiled binaries, but
   you won't be able to rebuild libraries from scratch.

.. [#pch] There's no problem using Boost with precompiled headers;
   these instructions merely avoid precompiled headers because it
   would require Visual Studio-specific changes to the source code
   used in the examples.

.. [#continuation] In this example, the caret character ``^`` is a
   way of continuing the command on multiple lines.  The command
   prompt responds with ``More?`` to prompt for more input.  Feel
   free to omit the carets and subsequent newlines; we used them so
   the example would fit on a page of reasonable width.

.. |boost.zip| replace:: |boost_ver|\ ``.zip``

.. _`boost.zip`: `sf-download`_


.. include:: detail/common-footnotes.rst
.. include:: detail/release-variables.rst
.. include:: detail/common-windows.rst
.. include:: detail/links.rst
