--- title: "Visual C++ in Visual Studio | Microsoft Docs" ms.custom: "" ms.date: "11/04/2016" ms.reviewer: "" ms.suite: "" ms.technology: - "cpp-ide" ms.tgt_pltfrm: "" ms.topic: "article" f1_keywords: - "visual c++" - "visual c" - "vc" dev_langs: - "C++" helpviewer_keywords: - "unmanaged code, C++" - "development environment, Visual C++" - "unmanaged code" - "Visual C++" - "Visual C++, reference" ms.assetid: e8dcc44c-a3e2-4ffe-887c-fd15b18dc458 caps.latest.revision: 61 author: "mikeblome" ms.author: "mblome" manager: "ghogen" translation.priority.ht: - "de-de" - "es-es" - "fr-fr" - "it-it" - "ja-jp" - "ko-kr" - "ru-ru" - "zh-cn" - "zh-tw" translation.priority.mt: - "cs-cz" - "pl-pl" - "pt-br" - "tr-tr" --- # Visual C++ in Visual Studio The Visual Studio 2017 programming language and development tools help you develop native Universal Windows apps, native desktop and server applications, cross-platform libraries that run on Android and iOS as well as Windows, and managed apps that run on the .NET Framework. **Who is this documentation for?** This content is for C++ developers who are writing programs. - If you are looking for a C++ redistributable package and runtime components so that you can run a program, go to the [Microsoft Download Center](http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/) and enter **Visual C++** in the search box. - If you are looking for an introduction to C++ programming concepts, go to one of the many websites that offer this content, or get a copy of [Programming -- Principles and Practice Using C++ (Second Edition)](http://stroustrup.com/Programming/) by the inventor of C++, Bjarne Stroustrup. The Visual C++ content assumes you already have a basic familiarity with C++. - If you are looking for the Visual C++ compiler, you need to download a paid or free edition of Visual Studio from [https://www.visualstudio.com/](https://www.visualstudio.com/). ## General Information about Visual C++ [What's New for Visual C++](what-s-new-for-visual-cpp-in-visual-studio.md) Find out what’s new in Visual C++. [C++ conformance improvements in Visual Studio 2017](cpp-conformance-improvements-2017.md) Learn about C++ conformance improvements in Visual Studio 2017. [Visual C++ language conformance](visual-cpp-language-conformance.md) A list of conformance status by feature in Visual C++. [Visual C++ change history 2003 - 2015](porting/visual-cpp-change-history-2003-2015.md) Learn about the breaking changes in previous versions. [Welcome Back to C++](cpp/welcome-back-to-cpp-modern-cpp.md) Learn more about modern C++ programming techniques based on C++11 and C++14 that enable you to write fast, safe code and avoid many of the pitfalls of C-style programming. [How to Report a Problem with the Visual C++ Toolset](how-to-report-a-problem-with-the-visual-cpp-toolset.md) Learn how to create effective error reports against the Visual C++ toolset (compiler, linker, and other tools), and ways to submit your report. [Visual C++ Porting and Upgrading Guide](porting/visual-cpp-porting-and-upgrading-guide.md) Guidance for porting code and upgrading projects to Visual C++ in Visual Studio 2017, including porting C++ code to Windows 10 and the Universal Windows Platform. [Visual C++ Team Blog](http://blogs.msdn.com/b/vcblog/) Learn more about new features and the latest information from the developers of [!INCLUDE[vcprvc](build/includes/vcprvc_md.md)]. [Visual Studio Downloads](http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=235233) Download Visual C++. [Visual C++ Tools and Features in Visual Studio Editions](ide/visual-cpp-tools-and-features-in-visual-studio-editions.md) Find out about different Visual Studio editions. [Supported Platforms](supported-platforms-visual-cpp.md) Find out which platforms are supported. [Visual C++ Samples](visual-cpp-samples.md) Information about samples. [Visual Studio Community](http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=235296) Find out how to get help, file bugs, and make suggestions for Visual Studio. ## Writing Applications in C++ [Universal Windows Apps](windows/universal-windows-apps-cpp.md) Find guides and reference content on the Windows Developer Center. For information about developing Windows Store apps, see [Develop Windows Store apps using Visual Studio](http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=248364) and [Roadmap for Windows Store apps using C++](http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=244654). [Desktop Applications (Visual C++)](windows/desktop-applications-visual-cpp.md) Learn how to create desktop applications that have a message loop and callbacks. [DLLs in Visual C++](build/dlls-in-visual-cpp.md) Find out how to use Win32, ATL, and MFC to create Windows desktop DLLs, and provides information about how to compile and register your DLL. [Parallel Programming](parallel/parallel-programming-in-visual-cpp.md) Learn how to use the Parallel Patterns Library, C++ AMP, OpenMP, and other features that are related to multithreading on Windows. [Security Best Practices](security/security-best-practices-for-cpp.md) Learn how to protect applications from malicious code and unauthorized use. [Cloud and Web Programming](cloud/cloud-and-web-programming-in-visual-cpp.md) In C++, you have several options for connecting to the web and the cloud. [Data Access](http://msdn.microsoft.com/Library/a9455752-39c4-4457-b14e-197772d3df0b) Connect to databases using ODBC and other database access technologies. [Text and Strings](text/text-and-strings-in-visual-cpp.md) Learn about working with different text and string formats and encodings for local and international development. ## C++ Development Tools To find out about how to create projects, work with source code files, link to libraries, compile, debug, profile, deploy, and more, see [IDE and Development Tools](ide/ide-and-tools-for-visual-cpp-development.md). ## C++ Language Reference For information about the C++ language, see [C++ Language Reference](cpp/cpp-language-reference.md). For information about the C++ preprocessor, see [C/C++ Preprocessor Reference](preprocessor/c-cpp-preprocessor-reference.md). ## C++ Libraries in Visual Studio The following sections provide information about the different C++ libraries that are included with Visual C++. [C Run-Time Library Reference](c-runtime-library/c-run-time-library-reference.md) Includes security-enhanced alternatives to functions that are known to pose security issues. [C++ Standard Library](standard-library/cpp-standard-library-reference.md) The C++ Standard Library. [Active Template Library (ATL)](atl/atl-com-desktop-components.md) Support for COM components and apps. [Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) libraries](mfc/mfc-desktop-applications.md) Support for creating desktop apps that have traditional or Office-style user interfaces. [Parallel Patterns Library (PPL)](parallel/concrt/parallel-patterns-library-ppl.md) Asynchronous and parallel algorithms that execute on the CPU. [C++ AMP (C++ Accelerated Massive Parallelism)](parallel/amp/cpp-amp-cpp-accelerated-massive-parallelism.md) Massively parallel algorithms that execute on the GPU. [Windows Runtime Template Library (WRL)](http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/apps/hh438466.aspx) [!INCLUDE[win8_appname_long](build/includes/win8_appname_long_md.md)] apps and components. [.NET Programming with C++/CLI (Visual C++)](dotnet/dotnet-programming-with-cpp-cli-visual-cpp.md) Programming for the common language runtime (CLR). See also the documentation for [STL/CLR](dotnet/stl-clr-library-reference.md) and the [C++ Support Library](dotnet/cpp-support-library.md). ## Other C++ libraries This section contains links to libraries that are not included with Visual Studio, but can be downloaded and used with Visual C++. [Boost](http://www.boost.org/) A popular and widely-used library. [C++ REST SDK](http://casablanca.codeplex.com). A Microsoft library for communicating with web services over HTTP. ## More Resources [Visual C++ Resources](http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/hh386302.aspx) More Visual C++ resources. [Standard C++](http://isocpp.org/) Learn about C++, get an overview of Modern C++, and find links to books, articles, talks, and events [Learn Visual C++](http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/hh386302.aspx) Start learning C++. ## See Also [C Language Reference](c-language/c-language-reference.md) [C Run-Time Library Reference](c-runtime-library/c-run-time-library-reference.md) [Compiler Intrinsics and Assembly Language](intrinsics/compiler-intrinsics-and-assembly-language.md)