Most of the other stuff should be optional, but some of it is nonetheless highly useful. You will almost certainly want to install the Windows SDK for Desktop C++ x86 Apps and Windows SDK for Desktop C++ amd64 Apps components. The Windows SDK contains a lot of stuff which you may or may not need. The SDK contains all the headers and libraries required to build Windows applications and make use of the Windows native API. This page has a tendency to move around, but googling for Windows SDK usually gives you the right page immediately. The latest version of the SDK can currently be found here. This will include the compiler ( cl.exe) and linker ( link.exe) for the MSVC build toolchain. These can be found on the Visual Studio Downloads page under Tools for Visual Studio -> Build Tools for Visual Studio. I am sure this is for many reasons like most users not being interested in compiling their own software, and Microsoft still sells Visual Studio separately to larger organisations (historically to most serious users, but 'Community' edition is now pretty nonrestrictive for individuals and small business). Microsoft provide some components separately, such as the Build Tools for Visual Studio 2019. Microsoft Visual C++ (part of Visual Studio) would be the equivalent 'built in' choice although I am not sure if Microsoft ever specify exactly which version they use for a given Windows build and it is common to have lots of software built with different compilers/versions (including the various non-Microsoft ones).Īs well as the full Visual Studio package with the IDE and other tools. Microsoft doesn't ship a compiler, or the required Windows SDK headers/libs (also includes a bunch of other useful development tools) for Windows in the installation. Since the kernel of Windows and the Windows API are written in C

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