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https://github.com/neosmart/msvcrt.lib

msvcrt.lib for linking against msvcrt.dll on all versions of Windows
https://github.com/neosmart/msvcrt.lib

msvc msvcrt

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msvcrt.lib for linking against msvcrt.dll on all versions of Windows

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# msvcrt.lib generator



`msvcrt.dll` is the generic C runtime library (aka "libc") on Microsoft Windows that has shipped

alongside Windows since Windows 95. Unlike other versions of the Microsoft C Runtime, this binary is

available on all end user machines and requires no preinstallation or dependency management

solution. _However, unlike versioned MSVCRT releases (such as `msvcrt71.dll`), `msvcrt.dll` does not

have a stable API and its exposed functions are not guaranteed backwards compatible by Microsoft._

As such, Microsoft - despite linking against this dll themselves for many of their applications -

does not provide the required library stub (`msvcrt.lib`) for developers to dynamically link against

`msvcrt.dll` for their own applications.



The `Makefile` in this repository will create a version of `msvcrt.lib` describing the API exposed

by the currently installed version of `msvcrt.dll`, allowing developers to link against the system

copy of `msvcrt.dll` instead of using a specific, versioned release of the MSVC runtime that

requires the installation of the VC redistributable package on consumer PCs before applications

linked against it can be used.



**Note: It is recommended to use the versioned C runtime when and where possible; this script is

only provided for the convenience of developers familiar with the pitfalls and caveats that come

with using the unversioned copy of `msvcrt.dll` and the minimal APIs it exposes!**



## Building msvcrt.lib



To build your own copy of `msvcrt.lib`, simply launch a copy of the Visual Studio Command Line Tools

and `cd` into the directory you checked out a copy of this repository into, then use the Microsoft

Makefile compiler (`nmake`) to build:



```batch

git clone https://github.com/neosmart/msvcrt.lib

cd msvcrt.lib

nmake all

```



Note that this script currently requires a working installation of the Windows Subsystem for Linux

(WSL) installed, and a copy of [`RunInBash`](https://github.com/neosmart/runinbash/) aliased to

`$.exe` to properly generate the `.lib` file. _There are no dependencies/requirements for the

resulting file, these are only "build dependencies."_



## Downloading msvcrt.lib



Builds of `msvcrt.lib` tagged against the version of Windows they were built on/against can be found

[on the Releases page](https://github.com/neosmart/msvcrt.lib/releases) of this repository.



## Other notes



* The 32-bit and 64-bit copies of `msvcrt.dll` are virtually identical, but this script generates a

  separate copy of `msvcrt.lib` of each for posterity's sake and out of an abundance of caution.

* Since the API of `msvcrt.dll` is not guaranteed, be sure to test your application thoroughly on

  all versions of Windows.

* If you do not need the zero-dependency, dynamically-linked binaries that come as a result of

  linking against the system `msvcrt.dll`, we do not recommend that you do so.



## License



The `msvcrt.lib` generation script and all utilities included in this repository are licensed under

the terms of the MIT Public License and can be freely redistributed accordingly. The `msvcrt.lib`

Makefile script and the `GetFileVersionInfo.exe` helper utility are developed and maintained by

Mahmoud Al-Qudsi  of NeoSmart Technologies. This document and thes source code

in this repository Copyright NeoSmart Technologies, 2017-2020.