Setup Visual Studio Express
Setup Visual C++ (2008)
Visual C++ Express Edition[1] is a integrated development environments (IDE) developed by Microsoft that is a lightweight version of the Microsoft Visual Studio C++ product line. The idea of express editions, according to Microsoft, is to provide streamlined, easy-to-use and easy-to-learn IDEs for users other than professional software developers, such as hobbyists and students.[2]
Download and install
Download the webinstaller from the Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition Website and run it. Go through the installer wizard - Visual C++ will be downloaded and installed accordingly. Alternatively you could download the whole DVD containing the complete Visual Studio 2008 Express Edition set (scroll to the bottom) to install the tools offline.
Setup
To configure and compile plplot with Visual C++ it is best to use the Windows CLI. Compiling PLplot via Project/Solution files is not tested and not supported. Please follow the instructions in [setup_cli Setup CLI] to get the Windows Command Line Interface ready for development. Then open your favorite text editor and enter the following CLI commands
@echo off rem setup Visual C++ compiler "%VS90COMNTOOLS%"\vsvars32.bat rem setup PLplot library set PLPLOTDIR=path_to_plplot set PLPLOT_LIB=%PLPLOTDIR%\data set PATH=%PLPLOTDIR%\dll;%PATH%
and save this to e.g. vcvars.bat. Start you Windows CLI, cd into the directory where the batch file was saved and run vcvars.bat. Run nmake /?, to see if everything works. Your Visual C++ developing environment is now ready.
