What does pragma comment mean

Question

What does  pragma comment mean in the following    pragma comment lib   kernel32    pragma comment lib   user32

User · Answer

Pragma directives specify operating system or machine specific (x86 or x64 etc) compiler options. There are several options available. Details can be found in https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/d9x1s805.aspx

#pragma comment( comment-type [,"commentstring"] ) has this format.

Refer https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/7f0aews7.aspx for details about different comment-type.

#pragma comment(lib, "kernel32") #pragma comment(lib, "user32")

The above lines of code includes the library names (or path) that need to be searched by the linker. These details are included as part of the library-search record in the object file.

So, in this case kernel.lib and user32.lib are searched by the linker and included in the final executable.

User · Answer

The answers and the documentation provided by MSDN is the best  but I would like to add one typical case that I use a lot which requires the use of  pragma comment to send a command to the linker at link time for example    pragma comment linker   ENTRY Entry     tell the linker to change the entry point form WinMain   to Entry   after that the CRTStartup going to transfer controll to Entry

User · Answer

pragma comment is a compiler directive which indicates Visual C   to leave a comment in the generated object file  The comment can then be read by the linker when it processes object files    pragma comment lib  libname  tells the linker to add the  libname  library to the list of library dependencies  as if you had added it in the project properties at Linker- gt Input- gt Additional dependencies  See  pragma comment on MSDN

User · Answer

I ve always called them  compiler directives   They direct the compiler to do things  branching  including libs like shown above  disabling specific errors etc   during the compilation phase   Compiler companies usually create their own extensions to facilitate their features  For example   I believe  Microsoft started the   pragma once  deal and it was only in MS products  now I m not so sure   Pragma Directives It includes   pragma comment  in the table you ll see   HTH  I suspect GCC  for example  has their own set of  pragma s

User · Answer

These link in the libraries selected in MSVC

[c++] What does "#pragma comment" mean?

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