You can't use MSVC in a plain command prompt window without some preparation. MSVC has complex requirements for the command-line environment to find the tools, headers, and libraries it uses. When you've installed the tools, there's another tool you'll use to build a C or C++ program on the command line. In the Visual Studio installer, select the Desktop development with C++ workload (in older versions of Visual Studio, select the C++ build tools workload), and choose Install. To install only the command-line toolset, download Build Tools for Visual Studio from the Visual Studio downloads page and run the installer.

It's perfect for build labs or classroom exercises and installs relatively quickly.

The Build Tools for Visual Studio version of Visual Studio installs only the command-line toolset, the compilers, tools, and libraries you need to build C and C++ programs. For information on these features and how to download and install Visual Studio, including the free Visual Studio Community edition, see Install Visual Studio. Visual Studio is a powerful integrated development environment that supports a full-featured editor, resource managers, debuggers, and compilers for many languages and platforms. To complete this walkthrough, you must have installed either Visual Studio or the Build Tools for Visual Studio and the optional Desktop development with C++ workload. If you'd like to try the Visual Studio IDE instead of using the command line, see Walkthrough: Working with Projects and Solutions (C++) or Using the Visual Studio IDE for C++ Desktop Development. If you'd rather work in C++ on the command line, see Walkthrough: Compiling a Native C++ Program on the Command Line. This walkthrough shows how to create a basic, 'Hello, World'-style C program by using a text editor, and then compile it on the command line. Microsoft C/C++ (MSVC) is a C and C++ compiler that, in its latest versions, conforms to some of the latest C language standards, including C11 and C17. The Visual Studio build tools include a C compiler that you can use to create everything from basic console programs to full Windows Desktop applications, mobile apps, and more.

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