[OpenSPIM] All C++ developers: Transition to Visual Studio 2010

[Neil Anthony]

Cool, good info to know.
Can you please tell me if I need Professional, Premium, etc. and/or if 
the MSDN is needed?
Also, would be worth going straight for 2012 if it's backward compatible?
Thanks
Neil


On 10/3/2013 9:34 PM, Mark Tsuchida wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Micro-Manager's Windows build is soon to make a long overdue switch from Visual
> Studio 2008 SP1 to Visual Studio 2010 SP1.
>
> This should not affect most users (but help with testing will be much
> appreciated).
>
> If you are a device adapter developer on Windows, or otherwise build
> Micro-Manager from source on Windows, you will need to switch to VS2010 SP1
> (referred to simply as VS2010 below) at the time when the switch to VS2010 is
> committed to teh SVN repository.
>
> Currently, I have a private branch of MM building with VS2010. The VS2010
> branch is maintained so that it is based off a recent head of the SVN trunk.
> I plan to merge this branch with the trunk, if nothing goes wrong, on
>
>    Thursday, October 10.
>
> The nightly builds will also switch to using VS2010 at that time.
>
> The consequence of the merge will be that all VS2008 project files (.vcproj)
> will be removed and corresponding VS2010 project files (.vcxproj) will be
> added. In addition, various changes will be made to allow MM to build with
> VS2010.
>
>
> What you need to do
> ===================
>
> ## All developers building C++ components
>
> You will need to set up VS2010. Here are the instructions (if you are using the
> free Express edition):
>
> 1. Install Microsoft Windows SDK 7.1:
> http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8279
> (If the installer fails, go to Control Panels > Programs and Features,
> uninstall everything with "Microsoft Visual ... 2010" in its name, and try
> again. An incomplete installation can seem to work but later cause subtle build
> issues.)
>
> 2. Install Visual C++ 2010 Express from
> http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng/downloads#d-2010-express
> (Refuse the invitation to choose Visual Studio 2012.)
>
> 3. Upgrade to Visual Studio 2010 (Express) SP1:
> http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=23691
>
> 4. Install this package to repair VS2010 SP1:
> http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4422
>
> VS2010 can coexist with VS2008 on the same computer.
>
>
> ## Authors and maintainers of device adapters in the SVN repository
>
> - I have ensured that all device adapters compile properly. Since I am unable
>    to test most of the hardware, there remains the possibility of library
>    incompatibilities at runtime, for device adapters that link to external
>    libraries.
>
> - Before the switch date, please download the VS2010 branch build (see below
>    for a link to the installers) and test if your device adapter functions
>    correctly.
>
> - If fixes are necessary, please do not commit them to SVN before I merge the
>    VS2010 branch (unless they are source code fixes that are also compatible
>    with VS2008). Instead, please let me know by email.
>
> - When I merge the VS2010 branch, there will be some changes to the project
>    files in addition to simply converting from VS2008 to VS2010. Most of those
>    changes have to do with centralizing project settings using Visual Studio
>    property sheets (.props files). Please be aware of this (details are outlined
>    in the next section). Further changes to make the build more maintainable
>    will likely be made following the switch to VS2010 on the trunk, so please
>    remember to run 'svn update' frequently.
>
> - After I merge the VS2010 branch, please be careful not to commit VS2008
>    project files to the repository.
>
> If you keep your own version of the project file, please also see the next
> section (but it would be best if you start over with the version in the VS2010
> branch, and reapply any necessary local settings, such as library paths).
>
>
> ## Authors of device adapters _not_ in the SVN repository
>
> To continue to build your adapter using the SVN trunk source code after the
> VS2010 changes are merged, you will need to:
>
> - Open your .vcproj file in VS2010 and click through the wizard to convert it
>    to a .vcxproj file.
>
> - In Project Properties > General, set 'Platform Toolset' to 'Windows7.1SDK'
>    (make sure to set this for all Configurations and all Platforms).
>
> - In Project Properties > Linker > General, reset 'Output File' to '<inherit
>    from parent or project defaults>' (for all Configurations and Platforms).
>
> - In Tools > Settings, choose 'Export Settings'.
>
> - Open View > Property Manager. For each Configuration/Platform, right-click
>    and choose 'Add Existing Property Sheet...'. Choose the
>    buildscripts/VisualStudio/MMCommon.props file in the MM source (only
>    available in the VS2010 branch).
>
> - Repeat the previous step, this time to add
>    buildscripts/VisualStudio/MMDeviceAdapter.props. When you're done, make sure
>    that MMDeviceAdapter is displayed above MMCommon, at the top the list.
>
> - Go back to View > Solution Explorer and once again open the project
>    properties. Reset all of the following properties to '<inherit from parent or
>    project defaults>' (make sure to first select all Configurations and all
>    Platforms):
>
>    - General > Output Directory
>    - General > Intermediate Directory
>    - General > Target Name
>    - C/C++ > General > Warning Level
>    - Linker > Debugging > Generate Debug Info
>    - Linker > Advanced > Randomized Base Address
>    - Everything under Build Events (there is no longer a need to have a copy
>      command here), unless you have special requirements.
>
>    These settings are now set in the common property sheets so that they don't
>    have to be set for each device adapter. (We will likely move more settings to
>    the property sheets in the future.)
>
> If you prefer, you can test your VS2010 project file ahead of time using the
> source code from my private VS2010 branch (see below for downloading).
>
>
> ## Developers who perform full or partial builds of Micro-Manager on Windows
>
> Previously, there were a few Visual Studio solution (.sln) files scattered
> around the source tree, and MMCoreJ_wrap/MMCoreJ_wrap.sln contained all device
> adapters in addition to the Core and MMCoreJ. Built binaries were placed in
> the directories bin_Win32/ and bin_x64/.
>
> With the update to VS2010, there is a single solution file (micromanager.sln at
> the source root) that is used to build all C++ components (Core, MMCoreJ,
> MMCorePy, device adapters, and the not-very-well-maintained test projects).
> Built binaries are placed in build/Release/Win32/ (or the corresponding
> directory for the selected configuration and platform).
>
> The fastest way to build several projects (e.g. the Core, MMCoreJ, and a
> handful of device adapters) is to open micromanager.sln, right click each
> project, and choose 'Build'.
>
>
> Downloading the VS2010 branch
> =============================
>
> The source code, patch set, and binary installers for the VS2010 branch are
> available here:
> http://valelab.ucsf.edu/~mtsuchida/ephemeral/expires-20131031/vs2010/
>
> Once the VS2010 branch is merged into the SVN trunk (currently sceduled for Oct
> 10), this page will be removed.
>
> Maintainers of closed-source device adapters can contact me directly to get a
> copy of the patched source code (the installers include closed-source device
> adapters).
>
> I will periodically update the VS2010 branch to incorporate changes to the SVN
> trunk.
>
>
> Q & A
> =====
>
> Q: I tested a device adapter from the installer linked above, and it doesn't
>     work. How sould I report this?
> A: Please first make sure it is working with the VS2008 build (i.e. the current
>     nightly build). If it is, please post to this mailing list and include the
>     symptoms you observe when you try to add the device in the Hardware
>     Configuration Wizard. Please also include the relevant contents of the
>     CoreLog (with debug logging enabled). I will work with you to fix the issues.
>
> Q: How do I build MMCoreJ.jar on the VS2010 branch?
> A: One additional change has been made to MMCoreJ: the generated Java code is
>     compiled by the Ant scripts (i.e. the same way all the other Java components
>     are built), instead of invoking the Java compiler from Visual Studio. If you
>     want to build just MMCoreJ.jar, after building MMCoreJ_wrap from VS2010, run
>     the following command from the command prompt, in the MM source root (Apache
>     Ant is required):
>     ant -f MMCoreJ_wrap\build.xml
>
> Q: How do I build LibraryTest?
> A: Open micromanager.sln, select the Platform, and right-click LibraryTest, and
>     choose 'Build'. The output can be found at e.g.
>     build/Release/Win32/LibraryTest.exe
>
> Q: Why not keep both .vcproj and .vcxproj in the SVN trunk, so that either
>     VS2008 or VS2010 can be used?
> A: I'm sorry, but that would be too much of a maintainance nightmare....
>
> Q: Why not switch to VS2012?
> A: We hope to do so eventually, and the switch from VS2010 should be relatively
>     easy (compared to VS2008 -> VS2010). Just want to take things one step at a
>     time. Also, I think it will be relatively easy to build with VS2012 using
>     VS2010 project files, as the changes are not as drastic as between VS2008
>     and VS2010.
>
>
> Thanks for bearing with all that.
> Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
>
> Best,
> Mark
>
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