C++ Cookbook

1.20. Specifying a Command-Line Option from Your IDE

Problem

You want to pass a command-line option to your compiler or linker, but it doesn’t correspond to any of the project settings available through your IDE.

Solution

Many IDEs provide a way to pass command-line options directly to the compiler or linker. This is summarized in Table 1-18 and Table 1-19.

Table 1-18. Specifying a compiler option from your IDE

IDE	Configuration
Visual C++	From your project’s property pages, go to Configuration Properties → C/C++ → Command Line and enter the option under Additional options.
CodeWarrior	n/a
C++Builder	n/a
Dev-C++	From Project Options, select Parameters and enter the option under C++ Compiler.

Table 1-19. Specifying a linker option from your IDE

IDE	Configuration
Visual C++	From your project’s property pages, go to Configuration Properties → Linker → Command Line and enter the option under Additional options.
Metrowerks	n/a
C++Builder	n/a
Dev-C++	From Project Options, select Parameters and enter the option under Linker.

Discussion

Visual C++ provides extensive configuration options through its graphical interface, but it also allows you to specify command-line options explicitly. CodeWarrior and C++Builder do not allow you to set command-line options explicitly, but this is generally not a problem, since like Visual C++ they both provide extensive configuration options through their graphical interfaces. Some IDEs, on the other hand, provide little means to configure your command-line tools other than by explicitly typing command-line options into a text field. Dev-C++ occupies a position somewhere in the middle: while Dev-C++ offers more graphical configuration options than some IDEs designed for the GCC toolset, it is still frequently necessary to enter explicit command-line options when using Dev-C++.