Since VS 2005, I see that it is not possible to simply build a dll against MS runtime and deploy them together (http://www.ddj.com/windows/184406482). I am deeply confused by manifest, SxS and co: MSDN documentation is really poor, with circular references; specially since I am more a Unix guy, I find all those uninformative. My core problem is linking a dll against msvc9 or msvc8: since those runtime are not redistributable, what are the steps to link and deploy such a dll ? In particular, how are the manifest generated (I don't want mt.exe, I want something which is portable across compilers), how are they embedded, used ? What does Side by side assembly mean ?
Basically, where can I find any kind of specification instead of MS jargon ?
Thank you to everyone who answered, this was really helpful,
We use a simple include file in all our applications & DLL's, vcmanifest.h, then set all projects to embedded the manifest file.
vcmanifest.h
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#if _MSC_VER >= 1400
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#pragma message ( "Setting up manifest..." )
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#ifndef _CRT_ASSEMBLY_VERSION
#include <crtassem.h>
#endif
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#ifdef WIN64
#pragma message ( "processorArchitecture=amd64" )
#define MF_PROCESSORARCHITECTURE "amd64"
#else
#pragma message ( "processorArchitecture=x86" )
#define MF_PROCESSORARCHITECTURE "x86"
#endif
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#pragma message ( "Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls=6.0.0.0")
#pragma comment ( linker,"/manifestdependency:\"type='win32' " \
"name='Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls' " \
"version='6.0.0.0' " \
"processorArchitecture='" MF_PROCESSORARCHITECTURE "' " \
"publicKeyToken='6595b64144ccf1df'\"" )
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#ifdef _DEBUG
#pragma message ( __LIBRARIES_ASSEMBLY_NAME_PREFIX ".DebugCRT=" _CRT_ASSEMBLY_VERSION )
#pragma comment(linker,"/manifestdependency:\"type='win32' " \
"name='" __LIBRARIES_ASSEMBLY_NAME_PREFIX ".DebugCRT' " \
"version='" _CRT_ASSEMBLY_VERSION "' " \
"processorArchitecture='" MF_PROCESSORARCHITECTURE "' " \
"publicKeyToken='" _VC_ASSEMBLY_PUBLICKEYTOKEN "'\"")
#else
#pragma message ( __LIBRARIES_ASSEMBLY_NAME_PREFIX ".CRT=" _CRT_ASSEMBLY_VERSION )
#pragma comment(linker,"/manifestdependency:\"type='win32' " \
"name='" __LIBRARIES_ASSEMBLY_NAME_PREFIX ".CRT' " \
"version='" _CRT_ASSEMBLY_VERSION "' " \
"processorArchitecture='" MF_PROCESSORARCHITECTURE "' " \
"publicKeyToken='" _VC_ASSEMBLY_PUBLICKEYTOKEN "'\"")
#endif
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#ifdef _MFC_ASSEMBLY_VERSION
#ifdef _DEBUG
#pragma message ( __LIBRARIES_ASSEMBLY_NAME_PREFIX ".MFC=" _CRT_ASSEMBLY_VERSION )
#pragma comment(linker,"/manifestdependency:\"type='win32' " \
"name='" __LIBRARIES_ASSEMBLY_NAME_PREFIX ".MFC' " \
"version='" _MFC_ASSEMBLY_VERSION "' " \
"processorArchitecture='" MF_PROCESSORARCHITECTURE "' " \
"publicKeyToken='" _VC_ASSEMBLY_PUBLICKEYTOKEN "'\"")
#else
#pragma message ( __LIBRARIES_ASSEMBLY_NAME_PREFIX ".MFC=" _CRT_ASSEMBLY_VERSION )
#pragma comment(linker,"/manifestdependency:\"type='win32' " \
"name='" __LIBRARIES_ASSEMBLY_NAME_PREFIX ".MFC' " \
"version='" _MFC_ASSEMBLY_VERSION "' " \
"processorArchitecture='" MF_PROCESSORARCHITECTURE "' " \
"publicKeyToken='" _VC_ASSEMBLY_PUBLICKEYTOKEN "'\"")
#endif
#endif /* _MFC_ASSEMBLY_VERSION */
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#endif /* _MSC_VER */
/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*/