Separate Compilation using VC++ (5.0 or newer)

Basically there are two ways to compile (i.e., build a project) multiple files using VC++: either you already have files in some directory (or they might have been copied from somewhere else) and create a project, or you create a project first and type in the files.

• Case 1: Source files exit already under some directory
  1. Create/type source files and save them under some directory. Say you created "class1.h" (header file), "class1.cpp" (implementation file) and "app1.cpp" (application file) under a directory c:\courses\310\assign1.

  2. Create a new project by selecting from the top menu-bar: File, New. In the pop-up window ("New"), select "Projects" tab (which may be selected by default). Then 
     • Select "Win32 console application" on the left-hand side box, 
     • Clear the entry in the "Location" box on the right-hand side, and type in the path to the directory "C:\courses\310" (with no " ".  Be sure NOT TO include the last subdirectory "assign1").
     • Type in the directory name "assign1" (with no " ") under the "Project name" box. 

     At this point, you see "assign1" is automatically concatenated with the path name in "Location".

     

     Hit OK.

  3. From the top menu-bar, select Project, Add to Project and Files. In the pop-up window, select .cpp files ONLY (in the example above, "class1.cpp" and "my_app.cpp"). You can add one file at a time by repeating this step, or select multiple files by holding down the control key and clicking on the files.

     

     Hit OK.

  4. Build the project by pressing the Build button or selecting from the top menu-bar Build and Build assign1.exe.

  5. Run the project. 

• Case 2: Create a project first and add new files as you create them
  • For VC++ 6 users, this procedure is explained in the document "Using VC++" under "Project Compilation".
  • For .NET and Visual Studio 2003 users, this procedure is the same as before -- create a project and add new files.  However, when you create a new .h (header) file, be sure to select "Header File (.h)" icon.