Windows console script to enable the MS compiler with custom environment settings

mscompiler.cmd

@echo off
::@title MS C++ compiler

:: Windows console script to enable the MS compiler with custom environment settings
:: Jerker Bäck 2017

::     delims:vv                vvv    vv       v            
::     line  :  PlatformIdentity = "UAP, Version=10.0.19041.0"      
::     tokens:  ^1                 ^2    ^3      ^4

setlocal
::set WSL="C:\Windows\System32\wsl.exe"
set vswhereprog="C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\vswhere.exe"
%vswhereprog% -latest -property installationPath | wsl.exe sed 's:\\:/:g' | wsl.exe tr -d '\r\n' > %TEMP%\vspath.tmp
endlocal
set /p vsinstalldir=<%TEMP%\vspath.tmp
set /p vctoolsversion=<"%vsinstalldir%/VC/Auxiliary/Build/Microsoft.VCToolsVersion.default.txt"
echo %vctoolsversion%|wsl.exe tr -d '\r\n' > %TEMP%\vspath.tmp
set /p vctoolsversion=<%TEMP%\vspath.tmp
set vctools=%vsinstalldir%/VC/Tools/MSVC/%vctoolsversion%/
reg.exe query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows Kits\Installed Roots" -f KitsRoot10 | wsl.exe sed -n 's:.*REG_SZ *\([[:print:]]*\).*:\1:p' | wsl.exe sed 's:\\:/:g'  | wsl.exe tr -d '\r\n' > %TEMP%\vspath.tmp
set /p kitsroot10=<%TEMP%\vspath.tmp
for /f "tokens=4 delims=^=," %%i in ('find.exe "PlatformIdentity" ^< "%kitsroot10%SDKManifest.xml"') do set kitsversion=%%i
set kitsversion=%kitsversion:"=%
echo %kitsversion%|wsl.exe tr -d ' \r\n' > %TEMP%\vspath.tmp
set /p kitsversion=<%TEMP%\vspath.tmp
del %TEMP%\vspath.tmp
set userlib=F:/libraries/
@echo.
echo Using MSVCtools version: %vctoolsversion%
echo Using Windows SDK version: %kitsversion%
@echo.

set INCLUDE=%vctools%include;%vctools%atlmfc/include;%kitsroot10%Include/%kitsversion%/ucrt;%kitsroot10%Include/%kitsversion%/um;%kitsroot10%Include/%kitsversion%/shared;%kitsroot10%Include/%kitsversion%/km;%kitsroot10%Include/%kitsversion%/winrt;%kitsroot10%Include/%kitsversion%/cppwinrt;%vsinstalldir%/VC/Auxiliary/VS/include;%vsinstalldir%/VC/Auxiliary/VS/UnitTest/include;%userlib%include;%userlib%include/ntnative;%userlib%include/wtl;
set LIB64=%vctools%lib/x64;%vctools%atlmfc/lib/x64;%kitsroot10%Lib/%kitsversion%/ucrt/x64;%kitsroot10%Lib/%kitsversion%/um/x64;%kitsroot10%Lib/%kitsversion%/km/x64;%vsinstalldir%/VC/Auxiliary/VS/UnitTest/lib/x64;%userlib%lib/x64;
set LIB32=%vctools%lib/x86;%vctools%atlmfc/lib/x86;%kitsroot10%Lib/%kitsversion%/ucrt/x86;%kitsroot10%Lib/%kitsversion%/um/x86;%kitsroot10%Lib/%kitsversion%/km/x86;%vsinstalldir%/VC/Auxiliary/VS/UnitTest/lib/x86;%userlib%lib/x86;
set PATHVS=%vsinstalldir%/Common7/IDE;%vsinstalldir%/Common7/Tools;%vsinstalldir%/Common7/IDE/VC/VCPackages;%vsinstalldir%/Common7/IDE/CommonExtensions/Microsoft/TestWindow;
set PATH64=%vctools%bin/HostX64/x64;%kitsroot10%bin/%kitsversion%/x64;%kitsroot10%bin/x64;
set PATH32=%vctools%bin/Hostx86/x86;%kitsroot10%bin/%kitsversion%/x86;%kitsroot10%bin/x86;
set orgPATH=%PATH%

if /i "%1"=="x86" ( call :32bitenviron ) else ( call :64bitenviron )
if errorlevel 1 goto Failed

set LIBPATH=%LIB%
goto :eof

:: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
:64bitenviron
@title MS C++ compiler 64-bit environment
echo Using 64-bit environment - use "mscompiler x86" for 32-bit
set LIB=%LIB64%
set PATH=%PATH64%;%PATHVS%;%PATH%
set _CL_=-link -subsystem:console -machine:x64
@exit /B 0

:: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
:32bitenviron
@title MS C++ compiler 32-bit environment
echo Using 32-bit environment
set LIB=%LIB32%
set PATH=%PATH32%;%PATHVS%;%PATH%
set _CL_=-link -subsystem:console -machine:x86
@exit /B 0

:: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
:Failed
@echo.
@echo ===============================================================================
@echo.
@echo Error: compiler script failed
@echo.
@echo ===============================================================================
@echo.

This script allows a stripped-down custom environment for the MS compiler tools (vs the Visual Studio prompt).
It's not very fast but faster than Visual Studio prompt.

There are imo two cumbersome settings in current Visual Studio installations:

• %vsinstalldir%/VC/Auxiliary/Build/Microsoft.VCToolsVersion.default.txt
• %kitsroot10%SDKManifest.xml

which gives the necessary compiler version and SDK tools version numbers.

In the script, I use wsl.exe sed and find.exe to get the numbers and wsl.exe tr to strip CRLN
So it has dependencies of WSL. I tried several alternatives but this is one way to do it.

Another way is to symlink the compiler to say C:\develop\current\vctools and manually update the symlink at each Visual Studio update. This has the advantage of giving a short path without spaces, but is of course less elegant. (I do both). As a side note MS really could have registered these two numbers somewhere more script friendly.

I am, of course, using WSL1.

JFYI: F:/libraries/ is the place i keep track of my external libraries, typically by symlinks to F:/libraries/include
Example Microsoft WIL:
Path to git repo: F:\libraries\ui\wil\wil
symlink: mklink /D "F:\libraries\include\wil" "..\ui\wil\wil\include\wil"